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BORDER  WARFARE  IN 

PENNSYLVANIA 


DURING  THE 
REVOLUTION 


Presented  to  the  Faculty  of  Philosophy  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania 

By  LEWIS  S.  SHI  MM  ELL 

In  Partial  Fulfillment  of  the  Requirements  of  the 
Degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy 


HARRISBURG,  PA. 

R.  L.  MYERS  &  COMPANY 

1901 


-1 


COPYRIGHT  1901 

BY 
I*.  S.  SHIMMELL 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 
I.     A  War  for  Territory 1-4 

II.     Management  of  Indian  Affairs. 

1.  In  the  Colonies 4-6 

2.  In  Pennsylvania 6-8 

III.  Indian  Difficulties  in  Pennsylvania  before  the 

Revolution. 

1.  Earliest  Disputes,  1722-1737 8-12 

2.  The  Walking  Purchase 12-14 

3.  In  the  Juniata  Valley 14-17 

4.  The  Albany  Purchase 17-20 

5.  The  Fort  Stanwix  Purchase 20-21 

IV.  British  Intrigues  with  the  Indians,  1774-1775. 

1.  Lord  Dunmore  and  Dr.  Connelly's  Plot 21-27 

2.  British  Indian  Agents 27-29 

V.     Alliances  with  the  Indians. 

1.  Instructions  from  the  English  Ministry. ..29-32 

2.  Action  of  the  Continental  Congress 32-36 

VI.     British  and  American   Experience  with  the  In 
dians  as  Allies 36-39 

VII.     Conditions  Adverse  to  Defense. 

1.  Extent  of  Frontiers 39-40 

2.  Territorial  Disputes 40-41 

3.  Diversity  of  Political  and  Religious  Opin 

ion 42-44 

VIII.     The  Militia. 

1.  In  Colonial  Times 45-46 

2.  From  1775-1777 46-48 

3.  The  Law  of  1777 ...48-51 


98953 


IX.     In  the  Year  1775* 51-^3 

1.  Around  Fort  Pitt. 

2.  On  the  West  Branch. 

3.  On  the  North  Branch. 

4.  In  the  Delaware  Valley. 

X.  In  the  Year  1776 54-68 

XI.  In  the  Year  1777 69-81 

XII.  In  the  Year  1778 82-103 

XIII.  In  the  Year  1779 104-116 

XIV.  In  the  Year  1780 116-121 

XV.  In  the  Year  1781 122-132 

XVI.     In  the  Year  1782 133-139 

XVII.    In  the  Year  1783. 

1.  Savages  Renew  Hostilities 142 

2.  Peace  Measures  by  Congress 143-144 

XVIII.     In  the  Year  1784-85. 

1.  Peace  Commissioners  Finally  Act 145-149 

2.  Pennsylvania's  Commission 150 

XIX.     The  Beginning-  of  "the  Winning-  of  the  West"... 151-153 


*NOTE. — In  the  treatment  of  the  Border  Warfare  on  the  subsequent  pages, 
the  same  geographical  ontline  has  been  followed  each  year  as  is  found  in  the 
year  1775. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania 
during  the  Revolution. 

WHETHER  the  English  Colonies  in  America  would 
have  escaped  the  horrors  of  two  decades  of  border 
warfare,  had  not  the  royal  arms  of  France  been  nailed  to 
trees  in  the  Ohio  Valley  nor  the  monogram  of  King  George 
been  pasted  on  Colonial  documents  of  business,  is  of  course 
problematical.  It  is  especially  so  in  Pennsylvania,  where 
Indian  wars  had  been  unknown  before  the  middle  of  the 
1 8th  century.  Yet  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  the  one  great 
cause  of  Indian  hostility  everywhere — extension  of  white 
settlements  —  would  have  brought  the  tomahawk  and 
scalping  knife  to  the  frontier  of  Pennsylvania  had  there 
been  no  French  or  Revolutionary  War.  It  is  true,  the 
French  incited  the  Indians  to  aggression  after  the  peace 
of  Aix  la  Chapelle ;  but  those  intrigues  succeeded  by  rea 
son  of  the  hope  held  out  that  the  hunting  grounds  usurped 
by  the  English  should  be  restored.  While  Christian  Fred 
erick  Post  was  on  his  mission,  1758,  of  withdrawing  the 
Ohio  Indians  from  the  French  interest,  the  chiefs  said  to 
him  at  Fort  Duquesne1  : 

"Before  you  came  they  had  all  agreed  together  to  go  and 
join  the  French,  but  since  they  have  seen  you  they  all  draw 
back,  tho'  we  have  great  reason  to  believe  you  intend  to  drive 
us  away  and  settle  the  country,  or  else  why  do  you  come  to  fight 
in  the  land  that  God  has  given  us." 

Post  replied  that  the  English  did  not  intend  to  take  the 
land  from  them ,  but  only  to  drive  the  French  away.  They 
said  they  knew  better  ;  that  they  were  informed  so  by  one 

1  Thompson's  Alienation  of  the  Indians,  p.  153-154. 


2          Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

of  the  greatest  English  traders  and  some  justices  of  the 
peace  ;  and  that  the  French  told  them  much  the  same 
thing,  namely  : 

"That  the  English  intend  to  destroy  us  and  take  our  lands 
from  us,  but  that  they  are  come  only  to  defend  us  and  our  lands." 

The  chiefs  further  said  to  Post : 

"  "Tis  plain  that  you  white  people  are  the  cause  of  this  war  ; 
why  don't  you  and  the  French  fight  in  the  eld  country,  and  on 
the  sea  ?  Why  do  you  come  to  fight  on  our  land?  This  makes 
everybody  believe  you  want  to  take  the  land  from  us  by  force, 
and  settle  it." 

If  other  evidence  were  needed  to  prove  that  the  In 
dians  allied  themselves  with  the  French  after  1750,  largely 
because  they  hoped  thereby  to  repress  the  tide  of  English 
occupation  beyond  the  Alleghenies,  it  could  be  found  in 
Pontiac's  conspiracy.  Pontiac's  conspiracy  had  various 
causes1  ;  but  what  contributed  most  to  the  growing  dis 
content  after  the  French  were  defeated  in  America,  was 
the  Indian  belief  that  the  English  would  cut  them  off 
entirely  and  possess  themselves  of  their  country.2  The 
Delawares  and  the  Shawanese,  the  ancient  friends  of  Wil 
liam  Penn,  in  particular,  had  been  roused  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  exasperation  by  the  white  settlements  fast  extend 
ing  up  the  Susquehanna  and  to  the  Alleghenies,  eating 
away  the  forest  like  a  spreading  canker.  The  Yankees 
from  Connecticut,  by  their  threatened  occupation  of  the 
Wyoming  Valley,  gave  great  umbrage  to  the  Six  Nations.3 
The  erection  of  the  frontier  forts  had  given  offense,  too, 
and  the  Six  Nations  asked  to  have  them  pulled  down,  and 
kicked  out  of  the  way. 4  At  a  conference  in  Philadelphia, 
August,  1761,  an  Iroquois  Sachem  said  : 


1  "  Ponteach  "  in  Appendix  B,  Parkman's  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac. 

2  Parkman's  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  p.  156. 

3  Minutes  of  the  Conference  of  the  Six  Nations  at  Hartford,  1763. 

4  Parkman's  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  p.  157. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.  3 

"  We,  your  brethren  of  the  Six  Nations,  are  penned  up  like 
hogs.  There  are  forts  all  around  us,  and,  therefore,  we  arc  ap 
prehensive  that  death  is  coming  upon  us."  1 

Pontiac's  war  was  a  struggle  of  life  and  death.2  The 
English  were  to  be  defeated  and  the  way  stopped,  so  that 
they  could  not  return  upon  the  Indians'  land.  The  en 
croachment  upon  his  lands  was  always  uppermost  in  the 
Red  Man's  mind  when  he  thought  of  going  on  the  war 
path  against  the  English  ;  and  no  doubt  the  scalping-knife, 
the  tomahawk  and  the  firebrand  would  have  brought  terror 
and  suffering  to  the  frontier  of  Pennsylvania  if  the  wily 
Frenchman  had  not  egged  the  Indian  on,  and  made  him 
his  ally  during  ten  long  years  of  border  warfare. 

Lord  Dunmore's  war,  in  1774,  again,  points  to  the 
probability  that  the  frontiersmen  would  have  had  to  fight 
for  their  lives  and  homes  once  more,  if  the  American  Colo 
nies  had  not  revolted  against  England.  An  Indian  war 
was  inevitable ;  diplomacy  was  no  longer  possible.  There 
may  have  been  minor  causes,  but  they  were  not  sufficient 
in  themselves.  The  main  cause  was  the  influx  of  settlers 
upon  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  Indians.  General  Gage, 
in  1772,  had  issued  a  proclamation  against  settlements 
beyond  the  boundaries  fixed  by  treaties  made  with  the 
Indian  Nations,  to  avoid  "  causing  infinite  disturbances." 
We  have  the  testimony  of  L,ogan  that  even  the  murders  of 
Yellow  Creek,  wrongly  supposed  to  have  been  committed 
by  Captain  Michael  Cresap,  of  Redstone  (from  which  error 
Dunmore 's  War  is  also  called  Cresap 's  War) ,  did  not  cause 
the  war  of  1774.  He  said  in  the  following  July3  :  "  The 
Indians  are  not  angry  on  account  of  these  murders,  but 
only  myself."  The  Indians,  regarding  the  settlements 

1  Parkraan's  Pontiac's  Conspiracy,  p.  157. 

2  Parkman's  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  p.  179. 

3  Wither's  Chronicles  of  Border  Warfare,  p.  138. 


4          Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

in  Southwestern  Pennsylvania  as  the  hive  from  which  the 
adventurers  to  Kentucky  swarmed,  directed  their  opera 
tions  against  this  part  of  the  frontier  in  1774.  In  fact,  the 
war,  which  was  then  commenced,  and  carried  on  with  but 
little  intermission  up  to  the  treaty  of  Fort  Greenville,  by 
Wayne,  in  1795,  was  a  war  to  prevent  the  further  exten 
sion  of  settlements  by  the  whites.  The  Red  Man  had  his 
own  cause  during  all  the  years  of  the  Revolution.  He 
was  not  an  ally  of  the  English  by  virtue  of  the  ancient 
friendship  of  the  Iroquois,  nor  was  he  a  hireling  like  the 
Hessian,  fighting  for  a  stipend.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Americans  fought  two  wars  at  one  and  the  same  time — a 
war  for  independence  and  a  war  for  territory.  In  the  lat 
ter  phase  of  the  Revolution,  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania 
were  especially  interested,  and  they  bore  the  brunt  of  it. 
Virginia  fought  for  what  the  logic  of  events  did  not  con 
firm,  and  Pennsylvania  for  what  her  charter  guaranteed. 
Whether  the  Revolution  had  come  later  or  not  at  all,  the 
Indians  would  have  attacked  and  ravished  the  frontier 
before  relinquishing  the  hunting  grounds  set  apart  by  the 
King  of  Great  Britain. 

During  the  earlier  Colonial  period,  beginning  with  the 
first  scattered  and  independent  settlements,  from  Acadia 
to  Florida,  and  ending  as  the  wars  with  France  began — 
each  isolated  group  of  Colonists  was  of  necessity  left  to 
its  own  methods  and  policy  in  the  intercourse  and  treat 
ment  of  the  natives.  There  was,  of  course,  the  same  ulti 
mate  reference  to  British  sovereignty  as  in  other  Colonial 
affairs  ;  and  instructions  were  given  from  time  to  time  as 
to  ways  of  dealing  with  the  Indians.1  But  each  Colony 
had  to  meet  its  own  straits  and  emergencies.2  The  help 
and  interference  from  England  grew  as  the  strife  with 

1  Hart's  Contemporaries,  vol.  1,  p.  186  ;  Preston's  Documents,  p.  34. 

2  Charter  to  William  Penn,  section  16. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.  5 

France  waxed  hotter.  Pennsylvania  being  remote  from 
the  seat  of  the  first  wars  with  the  French,  had  sole  con 
trol  of  its  relations  with  the  Indians  until  1754.  In  that 
year,  Governor  Hamilton  in  commpn  with  all  the  other 
Governors  in  America  received  a  letter  from  the  Lords  of 
Trade,  recommending  "  that  all  the  provinces  be  (if  prac 
ticable)  comprised  in  one  general  treaty  to  be  made  in  his 
Majesty's  Name,  it  appearing  to  their  Lordships  that  the 
Practice  of  each  Province  making  a  separate  treaty  for 
itself  in  its  own  Name,  is  very  improper,  and  attended 
with  great  inconveniences  to  his  Majesty's  service."1 
Such  concerted  action  seemed  wise  to  the  Lords  of  Trade, 
because  it  had  been  tried  on  former  occasions  among  some 
of  the  Colonies.  However,  the  General  Assembly  of 
Pennsylvania  did  not  approve  very  heartily  of  holding 
their  treaties  with  the  Indians  at  Albany  ;  but  because  all 
the  Colonies  were  invited,  they  agreed  that  the  Governor 
might  send  commissioners  if  he  thought  it  were  of  interest 
and  advantage  to  the  Province. 2  One  year  later,  Sir  Wil 
liam  Johnson  was  made  superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs, 
with  full  power  to  treat  with  the  Six  Nations,  and  to  se 
cure  them  and  their  allies  to  the  British  interest.  John 
son's  management  of  his  office  gave  great  satisfaction  ; 
and  to  set  at  rest  the  opposition  he  met  from  Governor 
Shirly,  of  Massachusetts,  he  received  a  commission,  in 
1756,  from  the  Crown,  as  "Colonel,  Agent  and  Sole  Super 
intendent  of  all  the  affairs  of  the  Six  Nations  and  other 
Northern  Indians . " 3  At  the  same  time  instructions  came 
from  the  ministry  forbidding  each  northern  province  to 
transact  any  business  with  Indians.  Johnson  now  had 
the  entire  management  of  the  Indian  relations  in  his  hands, 

1  Votes  of  the  Assembly,  p.  279-280. 

2  Ibid,  p.  286. 

3  Stone's  Life  and  Times  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  vol.  1,  p.  540. 


6  Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

' '  and  with  no  subornation  but  to  London. ' '  Indian  trea 
ties  in  Pennsylvania  and  important  conferences  were 
thereafter  attended  by  the  King's  superintendent  or  his 
deputy. 

As  long  as  the  founder  of  Pennsylvania  had  lived ,  or  dur 
ing  the  first  forty  years  of  the  time  while  the  Province  was 
the  principal  party ,  actor  and  contributor  of  ways  and  means 
in  the  management  of  Indian  affairs,  there  is  no  record 
of  any  great  dissatisfaction .  Naturally,  there  was  distrust 
at  first  ; x  but  it  was  soon  replaced  by  confidence  founded 
in  honest  trade,  friendly  intercourse  and  equal  rights.2 
Penn's  concession  of  the  same  rights  to  the  heathen  in  the 
ownership  of  land  as  the  Christians  enjoyed,  was  the  key 
to  his  whole  Indian  policy.  The  general  theory  of  those 
times,  originated  by  the  Pope,  was  that  no  heathen  people 
could  acquire  a  title  to  land  except  to  occupy  it  for  hunt 
ing  and  fishing  and  temporary  abode  as  long  as  the  Chris 
tians  did  not  want  it.  While  the  Spaniards  applied  this 
theory  to  the  letter,  resorting  to  force  and  bloodshed  when 
resistance  was  offered,  the  English,  as  a  rule,  paid  a  nom 
inal  price  for  the  land  and  avoided  conquest  if  possible. 
However,  there  were  exceptions  to  this  rule  in  some  of 
the  Knglish  colonies.  A  large  part  of  New  England  was 
conquered  from  the  Indians.3  One  of  the  causes  of  Roger 
Williams'  banishment,  was  his  criticism  of  the  Massachu 
setts  authorities  for  their  failure  to  pay  for  Indian  lands. 
He  held  that  the  King  could  not  grant  land  before  it  had 
been  bought  from  the  Indians.  Penn  held  the  same  views 
as  Williams,  and  paid  the  Indians  for  every  foot  of  land 
before  he  sold  it  to  the  settlers.  By  the  feudal  powers 
conferred  upon  him  as  the  lord  of  a  huge  fief,  he  might 

1  Penn's  Letter  to  the  Society  of  Free  Traders,  section  23. 

2  Penn's  Conditions  or  Concessions,  sections  12-15. 

3  Palfrey's  History  of  New  England,  vol.  3,  pp.  137-138. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.  7 

have  wrested  the  soil  from  the  savages  by  force  and  estab 
lished  his  title  in  blood.  Instead,  he  secured  it  by  treaties 
in  the  peaceful  shades  of  the  forest,  sanctified  by  the  in 
cense  from  the  calumet  of  peace. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  undue  praise  is  bestowed  upon 
Penn's  Indian  policy — that  the  New  Knglanders  had  paid 
for  their  lands  fifty  years  before,1  that  the  Bishop  of  Lon 
don  advised  Penn  to  do  it  in  his  province, 2  that  the  pacific 
policy  of  the  Quakers  made  this  course  necessary,  that  it 
succeeded  because  the  surrounding  Indians,  being  vassals, 
were  debarred  by  their  conquerors  from  the  use  of  arms, 
and  that  Penn  paid  twice  for  his  lands  in  order  to  secure 
the  good- will  of  both  slave  and  master — once  to  the  Iro- 
quois,  who  claimed  by  right  of  conquest,  and  once  to  the 
Delawares,  who  claimed  by  right  of  occupation.  But  no 
matter  how  much  is  due  to  others  and  to  fortuitous  cir 
cumstances,  William  Penn  was  the  Hamlet  in  it  all.  For 
the  era  of  absolute  peace  lasted  only  a  short  time  after 
Penn's  death.  With  the  year  1722,  Indian  complaints 
concerning  land  transactions  began  to  appear  on  the  official 
records  of  Pennsylvania.  Governor  Keith,  hearing  that 
some  Marylanders  intended  to  take  up  land  west  of  theSus- 
quehannaby  virtue  of  Baltimore's  charter,  hastily  had  some 
land  surveyed  there  for  himself.  When  the  Indians  learned 
of  this,  they  desired  to  know  whether  the  Governor's  sur 
vey  would  not  occasion  the  immediate  settlement  of  all 
that  side  of  the  river.  They  were  assured  that  the  Gov 
ernor  had  taken  up  the  land  solely  to  prevent  others  from 
going  there.  As  to  his  own  right  of  land  west  of  the 
Susquehanna,  the  Indians  were  referred  to  the  purchase 
which  William  Penn  had  made  of  Governor  Dongan,  ox 
New  York,  1696.  This  transaction,  made  in  England, 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  2,  p.  98. 

2  Penn's  Letter  to  the  Ministry,  August  14, 1683. 


8  Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

conveyed  to  Penn  all  the  land  between  the  northern  and 
southern  boundaries  of  Pennsylvania,  lying  on  both  sides 
of  the  Susquehanna.  However,  the  Susquehanna  In 
dians,  in  1700,  complained  to  Penn  that  the  Five  Nations 
had  not  consulted  them  in  the  sale  to  Dongan,  and  they 
made  the  same  complaint  to  Governor  Keith,  in  1722. 
Here  appears,  for  the  first  time,  the  difficulty  which  Penn 
sylvania  experienced  on  account  of  the  dominion  which 
the  Iroquois  claimed  over  the  native  tribes  of  the  Province. 
Keith  was  also  reminded  of  a  promise  Penn  had  made  in 
1700,  that  the  land  should  be  common  among  the  English 
and  the  Indians.  Keith's  reply1 — "  .  .  .  only  I  have 
heard  further  that  when  he  was  so  good  to  tell  your  peo 
ple,  that  notwithstanding  that  purchase,  the  lands  should 
still  be  in  common,  you  answered,  that  a  very  little  land 
would  serve  you , ' '  etc . — was  quite  prophetic  of  the  Indian 's 
fate.  To  strengthen  his  claim  to  the  survey  made  across 
the  Susquehanna,  Keith  went  to  Albany  the  same  year 
and  had  the  Five  Nations  confirm  the  grant  obtained 
through  Governor  Dongan.  Yet  five  years  afterwards 
some  chiefs  of  the  Five  Nations  came  to  Philadelphia  and 
wanted  to  sell  the  same  lands  again.2 

The  conference  at  Philadelphia,  in  1727,  was  the  first 
at  which  serious  difficulties  appear  on  the  minutes  of  the 
Provincial  Council.3  They  were  in  the  form  of  petitions 
from  ' '  ye  back  inhabitors ' '  for  protection  against  ' l  ye 
Ingeans,"  and  of  complaints  by  the  Indians  against  the 
frontier  settlers.  The  Indians  complained  that  "many 
sorts  of  traders  came  among  them,  both  Indians  and  Eng 
lish,  who  all  cheat  them,  and  though  they  get  their  skins 

1  Smith's  Laws,  vol.  2,  p.  112. 

2  Colonial  Records,  vol.  3,  p.  271. 

3  Colonial  Records,  vol.  3,  pp.  274-275,  and  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol. 
3,  pp.  204-213. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.  9 

they  give  them  very  little  in  pay,  not  enough  to  secure 
powder  and  shot  to  hunt  with  and  get  more."  The 
traders,  they  said,  had  but  little  of  these,  but  instead 
brought  rum,  which  they  sold  very  dear,  three  and  four 
times  more  than  it  was  worth.  They  also  took  notice  that 
the  French  and  English  (reference  is  here  to  New  York) 
raised  forts  among  them,  and  that  great  numbers  of  people 
are  sent  thither,  the  meaning  of  which  they  did  not  under 
stand,  but  feared  it  boded  evil.  They  also  desired  that 
no  settlements  be  made  up  the  Susquehanna  higher  than 
Paxtang,  and  that  no  rum  be  sold  there,  that  being  the 
road  by  which  their  people  went  out  to  war,  nor  at  Alle 
gheny.  The  Governor  and  Council  replied  that  while 
there  was  great  talk  of  war  in  Europe,  the  English  and 
French  were  on  the  same  side.  As  to  trade,  they  knew 
it  was  the  method  of  all  that  follow  it  to  buy  as  cheap  and 
sell  as  dear  as  possible  ;  every  man  must  make  the  best 
bargain  he  can,  arid  be  on  his  guard.  The  answer  to  the 
complaint  about  the  sale  of  rum  was  on  a  par  with  the 
one  about  trading — evasive  and  unsatisfactory. 

This  same  complaint  had  been  made  in  1722  :  "  The 
Indians  could  live  contentedly  and  grow  rich  if  it  were 
not  for  the  quantities  of  rum  that  is  suffered  to  come 
among  them,  contrary  to  what  William  Perm  promised 
them."  As  to  the  forts,  the  Indians  were  assured  that 
the  English  were  their  constant  friends,  and  they  need 
therefore  have  no  fears.  Of  those  built  by  the  French, 
the  Governor  and  Council  had  no  knowledge.  The  set 
tlements  above  Paxtang  were  made  contrary  to  law,  it 
was  admitted  ;  but  they  were  excused  with  an  ' '  of  course, 
as  the  young  people  grow  up  they  will  spread,  yet  not  very 
speedily."  The  Governor  further  promised  to  "  give 
orders  to  them  all  to  be  civil  to  those  of  the  Five  Nations 
as  they  pass  that  way,  and  the  sale  of  rum  shall  be  pro- 


10         Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

hibited  there  and  at  Allegheny,  but  the  woods  are  so  thick 
and  dark  we  cannot  see  what  is  done  in  them." 

The  following  year,  another  conference  was  held  at 
Philadelphia.  French  intrigues  began  to  show  them 
selves,1  but  the  field  of  operation  was  yet  too  far  removed 
from  Philadelphia  to  receive  much  attention .  The  greatest 
difficulty  was  trespass  upon  lands  not  purchased  from  the 
Indians.  Addressing  himself  to  James  L,ogau,  a  Dela 
ware  chief  said,  that  he  was  growing  old,  and  was  troubled 
to  see  the  Christians  settle  on  lands  for  which  the  Indians 
had  never  been  paid,  that  his  children  might  wonder  to 
see  all  their  fathers'  land  gone  without  any  money  for  it, 
that  this  might  occasion  a  difference  between  his  children 
and  the  Knglish.  The  Delaware  chief  had  reference 
specially  to  the  Tulpehockin  lands  now  in  Berks  county, 
which  had  been  occupied  by  the  connivance  of  Governor 
Keith,  but  without  the  consent  of  the  Proprietors.  A 
colony  of  Germans  from  New  York,  friends  and  associates 
of  Conrad  Weiser,  afterwards  the  famous  Indian  Agent 
of  the  Province,  had  invaded  the  lands  and  actually  aided 
and  abetted  the  destruction  of  the  Indians '  crops . 2  James 
Logan  promised  to  make  the  matter  satisfactory,  and 
asked  the  Indians  not  to  injure  the  Palatines.  The  In 
dians  acquiesced,  but  the  lands  on  the  Tulpehockin  were 
not  deeded  and  paid  for  until  1733.  This  violation  of  the 
well-settled  policy  of  William  Penn  brought  about  the 
first  collision  between  the  Indians  and  the  frontiersmen . 3 
It  gave  the  French  their  first  good  chance  to  intrigue  with 
the  savages  of  Pennsylvania  ; 4  and  was  the  entering  wedge 
to  the  alienation  of  the  natives,  "who,"  as  Governor 


1  Colonial  Records,  vol.  3,  pp.  295-298. 

2  Colonial  Records,  vol.  3,  p.  324. 

3  Gordon's.  Proclamation,  Colonial  Records,  TO!.  3,  p.  307. 

4  Colonial  Records,  vol.  3,  pp.  438-452. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.          11 

Gordon  said,  speaking  in  his  proclamation  of  May  i6th, 
1728,  about  former  treaties,  "  have  not  been  guilty  of  any 
failure  or  breach  on  their  parts  of  the  said  treaty." 

The  deed  releasing  the  Tulpehockin  lands  embraced 
none  of  the  lands  in  the  Delaware  basin,  where  the  set 
tlements  at  the  Minisinks,  nearly  forty  miles  above  the 
Leckey  Hills,  caused  great  discontent.  Here  a  warrant 
for  10,000  acres  had  been  secured  by  William  Allen,  a 
great  land  dealer,  from  William  Penn,  grandson  of  the 
founder,  about  the  same  time1  that  the  Germans  came  to 
Tulpehockin.  Allen  chose  a  tract  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
present  town  of  Stroudsburg,  and  sold  it  to  such  as  would 
settle  it.  According  to  the  Rolls-office  of  Bucks  county, 2 
a  tract  sold  to  one  Depue  actually  included  a  Shawanese 
town,  and  another  an  island  belonging  to  the  same  tribe. 
About  this  time,  too,  the  Proprietary  offered  to  dispose 
of  lands  by  lottery,  which  the  lucky  ones  were  allowed  to 
lay  out  anywhere  except  on  Proprietary  and  settlers' 
claims.  To  assist  the  adventurers  in  the  choice  of  good 
lands,  several  tracts  were  laid  out  in  the  Forks  of  the 
Delaware.  Though  the  lottery  did  not  fill,  and  therefore 
was  not  drawn,  the  tickets  sold  became  rights,  by  virtue 
of  which  the  tracts  in  the  Forks  of  the  Delaware  were 
quickly  taken  up  and  settled  by  the  Scotch-Irish. 

These  transactions  provoked  the  Indians.  Seeing  them 
selves  deprived  of  their  lands  without  any  consideration, 
they  complained  loudly,  and  even  began  to  threaten. 
After  several  ineffectual  attempts  in  1734-35  to  compose 
the  clamors  of  the  Delawares,  the  Proprietary  complained 
of  them  to  the  Five  Nations.  In  1736,  deputies  of  these 
arrived  in  Philadelphia.  After  a  week's  deliberation,  in 
the  course  of  which  complaint  was  made  against  the  Del- 


1  Smith's  Laws,  vol.  2,  p.  114. 

2  Thompson's  Alienation  of  the  Indians,  p.  29. 


12         Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

awares,  a  treaty  was  ratified  by  which  all  the  lands  be 
tween  the  mouth  of  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Kittatinny 
Hills  were  released.  By  the  deed  itself,1  it  appears  that 
the  extent  of  land  eastward  was  ' '  as  far  as  the  heads  of 
the  branches  or  springs  which  run  in  the  said  Susque 
hanna  ; ' '  and  therefore  it  did  not  give  any  color  of  right 
for  settling  the  lands  in  the  Forks  of  the  Delaware. 
Wherefore,  to  correct  this  defect,  some  of  the  Indians  who 
visited  Conrad  Weiser  on  their  way  home  were  induced 
at  Tulpehockin,2  eleven  days  after  the  public  treaty  had 
been  ended, 3  to  sign  a  piece  of  writing  declaring  that  their 
intention  in  the  deed  was  to  release  all  the  lands  between 
the  Susquehanna  and  the  Delaware  as  far  north  as  the 
Kittatinny  Mountains.  The  extent  of  land  conveyed  by 
the  second  instrument  was  double  that  described  in  the 
deed ;  yet  for  the  farther  grant  there  was  no  considera 
tion. 

It  seems  that  the  Proprietary  themselves  did  not  think 
that  the  Six  Nations  could  convey  lands  east  of  the  tribu 
taries  of  the  Susquehanna  ;  for  eight  months  later,  August 
25>  T737>  they  procured  a  release  from  the  Delawares  for 
at  least  a  part  of  these  lands.  This  release  was  the 
famous  walking  purchase,  or  the  confirmation  of  a  sup 
posed  deed  of  1686.  The  Indians  having  no  recollection 
of  any  such  deed,  and  there  being  no  record  of  it  on  the 
rolls,  it  took  considerable  persuasion  to  make  them  be 
lieve  that  the  deed  was  genuine.  It  is  certain  that  no  such 
original  deed  was  in  existence  at  the  treaty  of  Easton,  in 
I757-4  The  tract  of  land  as  described  in  it,  and  as  con 
firmed  in  1737,  began  "  on  a  line  drawn  from  a  certain 


1  Smith's  Laws,  vol.  2,  p.  115. 

2  Thompson's  Alienation  of  the  Indians,  p.  115. 

3  Ibid,  p.  32. 

4  Smith's  Laws,  vol.  2,  p.  111. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         13 

spruce  tree  on  the  river  Delaware  by  a  west-north  west 
course  to  Neshaminy  creek,  from  thence  back  into  the 
woods  as  far  as  a  man  could  go  in  a  day  and  a  half  .... 
and  from  thence  to  the  aforesaid  river  Delaware,  and  so 
down  the  courses  of  the  river  to  the  first-mentioned  spruce 
tree. ' ' x  The  Indians  knew  nothing  about  the  surveyor's 
chain,  and  so  the  deeds  call  for  the  measurement  of  lands 
by  walking  or  riding.  The  walk  was  accordingly  made  ; 
but  it  only  increased  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  Indians. 
It  extended  about  thirty  miles  beyond  the  Lechay  Hills, 
over  the  Kitta tinny  Mountains,  and  included  the  best 
lands  in  the  Forks  of  the  Delaware.  When  the  line  was 
drawn  to  the  Delaware,  from  the  point  reached  by  the 
walk,  instead  of  drawing  it  directly  to  the  river,  it  was 
slanted  northward,  so  as  to  include  the  valuable  Minisink 
Flats.  The  Indians  complained  that  the  walkers  selected 
by  the  Proprietary  ran  instead  of  walked  ;  at  least  they 
could  not  keep  up.  Furthermore,  their  expectation  was 
that  the  walk  would  be  made  parallel  to  the  course  of  the 
Delaware.  That  the  walking  purchase  was  a  fraud  can 
not  be  denied.  It  sank  deep  into  the  Indian  heart,  and 
was  never  forgotten.  The  Dela wares  were  driven  from 
the  English  interest  into  that  of  the  French,  who  stood 
ready  to  increase  the  dissatisfaction . 

The  Indians  refused  to  quit  the  lands  or  give  quiet 
possession  to  the  people  who  came  to  settle  in  the  Forks. 
Accordingly,  in  1742,  the  Six  Nations  were  brought  to 
Philadelphia  again  to  force  the  Delawares  to  leave  the 
Forks.  Their  coming  was  necessary,  not  only  for  the 
peace  of  the  Province  at  that  time,  but  for  its  future  se 
curity  in  case  of  a  rupture  with  the  French.2  The  situa- 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  1,  p.  541 

2  Governor  Thomas'  Proclamation,  Votes  of  Assembly,  vol.  3,  pp.  481- 
482  • 


14        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

tion  was.  explained,  and  the  Six  Nations  were  asked  to 
remove  the  Delawares  from  the  Forks,  without  giving  the 
latter  any  chances  to  make  a  defense.  This  the  Six  Na 
tions  concluded  to  do,  and,  addressing  the  Delawares,  up 
braided  them  in  scathing  language,  calling  them  ' '  women , ' ' 
with  no  right  to  sell  lands,  and  charging  them  to  remove 
instantly  without  liberty  to  think  about  it.  They  might 
go  back  to  New  Jersey,  where  they  came  from,  or  settle 
at  Wyoming  or  Shamokin.  Their  masters  then  forbade 
them  ever  to  meddle  in  land  affairs  or  pretend  to  sell  any 
land.1  The  Delawares  dared  not  disobey.  They  at  once 
left  the  conference  and  soon  after  removed — some  to 
Wyoming  and  Shamokin,  others  to  Ohio. 

Having  disposed  of  the  Delawares,  the  Six  Nations 
proceeded  to  a  little  business  of  their  own  at  the  same 
council.  They  had  helped  to  defraud  the  Delawares  on 
the  Minisinks,  (see  page  13),  but  they  were  not  willing 
to  be  defrauded  themselves  at  the  Juniata.  The  Six  Na 
tions  complained  that  the  Governor's  people  daily  settled 
on  the  lands  beyond  the  Blue  Mountains.  "  In  particu 
lar,"  said  they,  "  we  renew  our  Complaints  against  some 
People  who  are  settled  at  Juniata,  a  Branch  of  Susque- 
hanna,  and  desire  that  they  may  be  forthwith  made  to  go 
off  the  Land,  for  they  do  great  damage  to  our  Cousins, 
the  Delawares."  The  Governor  replied  that  magistrates 
had  been  sent  to  remove  the  settlers.  The  Indians  inter 
rupted  him  and  said,  "  These  persons  who  were  sent  do 
not  do  their  Duty  ;  so  far  from  removing  the  People,  they 
made  Surveys  for  themselves,  and  they  are  in  League  with 
the  Trespassers  :  we  desire  more  effectual  methods  may 
be  used  and  honester  Men  employed."2 

The  first  unwelcome  people  who  came  to  the  lands  ot 

1  Colonial  Records,  vol.  4,  pp.  479-480. 

2  Colonial  Records,  vol.  4,  pp.  571-572. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         15 

the  Juniata  were  traders,  to  whom  official  reference  was 
made  at  the  council  of  Philadelphia  in  1727.  In  the  time 
of  Penn  the  natives  brought  their  peltry  hundreds  of  miles 
to  the  Delaware  river.  In  the  course  of  time,  as  the  de 
mand  for  skins  and  furs  grew  greater,  traders  penetrated 
the  depths  of  the  forest  to  hasten  and  monopolize  the 
trade.  In  this  way  the  whole  Juniata  and  West  Branch 
regions  were  explored  and  advertised  to  adventurous  set 
tlers.  These  were  generally  a  good  class  of  people,  but 
the  Indians  estimated  them  by  the  traders,  who  were  no 
better  than  banditti.1  The  settlers  to  whom  the  Indians 
referred  in  1742  were  Germans,2  who  came  several  years 
in  advance  of  all  other  white  settlers,  and  boldly  located 
themselves  in  the  valley  of  the  Juniata.  The  Governor 
and  the  Proprietors  caused  the  settlers  to  be  driven  out 
in  1743.  But  at  the  same  time  the  Irish  were  making  set 
tlements  on  unpurchased  lands  at  Big  Cove,  Little  Cove 
and  other  places  farther  up  the  valley.  Later,  some  per 
sons  had  the  presumption  to  go  into  Tuscarora  Gap,  into 
Aughwick  lying  northward,  into  Shearman's  Creek,  into 
the  valley  of  the  Big  Juniata,  whence  the  Germans  had 
been  driven,  and  along  the  west  side  of  the  Susquehanna 
as  far  as  Penn's  Creek.  So  in  1748  the  Government  sent 
the  sheriff  with  three  magistrates  and  Conrad  Weiser  into 
these  places  to  warn  the  people  ;  but  they  paid  no  heed, 
and  continued  their  settlement. 

The  tension  was  somewhat  relieved  by  the  purchase  of 
1749,  which  included  a  strip  of  land  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Susquehanna,  north  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  as  far  as 
the  Delaware.  So  much  the  Indians  were  willing  to  do, 
because  they  had  seen  on  their  way  down  from  Onondago 
that  many  people,  whom  it  would  be  difficult  to  remove, 

1  Votes  of  Assembly,  vol.  3,  p.  555. 

2  Colonial  Records,  vol.  5,  p.  445. 


16         Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

had  settled  on  the  east  side  of  the  Susquehanna.  But  they 
insisted  on  the  removal  of  those  on  the  west  side.  Procla 
mations  were  accordingly  issued,  but  again  disregarded 
by  the  "squatters."  In  May,  1750,  Richard  Peters,  the 
secretary  of  the  Land  Office,  with  some  magistrates,  was 
sent  to  remove  them.  On  his  way  he  met  some  Indians, 
who  were  delighted  to  learn  of  his  mission,  but  feared  it 
would  prove  like  former  attempts — the  people  would  be 
put  off  now,  but  come  back  again  next  year  ;  and  if  so, 
the  Six  Nations  would  no  longer  bear  it,  but  would  do 
themselves  justice.  Mr.  Peters,  accompanied  by  the  Indians, 
broke  up  the  settlements  at  Shearman's  Valley,  at  Augh- 
wick  and  Big  Cove,  everywhere  dispossessing  the  people 
and  burning  the  cabins.  But,  through  a  technicality,1 
Peters  did  not  make  thorough  work,  though  he  had  de 
clared  before  he  went  out  on  his  mission — "  That  if  he 
did  not  at  this  journey  entirely  remove  these  people,  it 
would  not  be  in  the  power  of  the  Governor  to  prevent  an 
Indian  war." 

By  the  message  which  Governor  Hamilton  sent  to  the 
Assembly  with  Mr.  Peters'  report,  it  appears  that  what 
had  been  done  proved  of  little  avail.2  Within  two  years 
after  the  squatters  had  been  led  into  the  Carlisle  jail,  many 
of  them  returned,  and  others  came  with  them.  These 
continual  aggressions  greatly  incensed  the  Indians.  At 
a  treaty  in  Carlisle,  1753,  they  very  plainly  expressed 
their  views,  but  were  unwilling  to  say  or  do  anything  from 
which  their  friendship  might  be  suspected.  They  advised 
the  authorities  that  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  forbear 
settling  on  the  Indians'  lands  over  the  Allegheny  Hills, 
being  especially  earnest  in  their  renewal  of  the  request  to 
have  the  traders  brought  back  to  the  Susquehanna  ;  that 


1  Thompson's  Alienation  of  the  Indians,  p.  72. 

2  Colonial  Records,  vol.  5,  p.  455. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         17 

the  Governor  recall  the  people  from  the  Juniata  Valley, 
and  that  none  others  locate  there  until  matters  were  set 
tled  between  them  and  the  French,  "  lest,"  they  said, 
"damage  should  be  done,  and  we  should  think  ill  of 
them. ' ' 1  There  was  great  anxiety  now  to  strengthen  the 
fidelity  of  all  the  Indians,  as  official  records  fully  show. 
Communications  by  means  of  agents  were  numerous  until 
the  unfortunate  purchase  of  1754  kindled  a  flame,  which 
could  only  be  extinguished  by  a  deluge  of  blood. 

The  treaty,  at  which  the  purchase  of  1754  was  made, 
was  held  at  Albany,  by  order  of  the  King  (See  page  5). 
The  tract  acquired  by  the  Proprietary  was  bounded  on 
the  north  by  a  line  drawn  from  Shamokin  to  Lake  Erie, 
and  on  the  west  and  south  by  the  utmost  extent  of  the 
Province.  It  included  nearly  all  of  Pennsylvania  west  of 
the  Susquehanna.  The  lands  where  the  Shawanese  and 
Ohio  Indians  lived,  and  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  Dela- 
wares,  the  Nanticokes  and  the  Tuteloes,  were  all  included. 
They  were  obtained  by  methods  not  described  by  the 
writers  of  the  time,  but  strongly  hinted  at,  and  requiring 
a  week  to  induce  the  Indians  to  execute  the  deed.2  The 
Indians  were  deceived  by  compass  measurements,  which 
they  did  not  understand  ;3  the  deed  was  irregular,  with 
out  proper  notice,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Six 
Nations  ;  and  it  gave  away  lands  of  tribes  whose  repre 
sentatives  had  never  signed  it.4  Pennsylvania  and  Con 
necticut  had  entered  a  race  for  the  purchase  of  1754;  each 
was  bent  on  getting  it  by  fair  means  or  foul ;  and  Penn 
sylvania  won,  but  it  was  a  costly  victory.  Many  of  the 
Indian  tribes  seeing  their  lands  gone  joined  the  French, 


1  Colonial  Records,  vol.  5,  pp.  671-684. 

2  Thompson's  Alienation  of  the  Indians,  p.  78. 

3  Colonel  Weiser's  Journal  of  Augfhwick  Conference,  Colonial  Records, 
vol.  6,  p.  150. 

4  Thompson's  Alienation  of  the  Indians,  p.  79. 


18         Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

and  in  the  following  year  showed  their  resentment  on 
Braddock's  field. 

Governor  Morris,  after  the  defeat  of  Braddock,  told 
the  Assembly  "that  it  seemed  clear,  from  the  different 
accounts  he  had  received,  that  the  French  had  gained  to 
their  interest  the  Delaware  and  Shawanese  Indians,  under 
the  ensnaring  pretense  of  restoring  them  to  their  coun 
try."1  The  Assembly  themselves  said ,  "It  is  rendered 
beyond  contradiction  plain  that  the  cause  of  the  present 
Indian  incursions  in  this  Province,  and  the  dreadful 
calamities  many  of  the  inhabitants  have  suffered,  have 
arisen  in  great  measure  from  the  exorbitant  and  unreason 
able  purchases  made,  or  supposed  to  be  made,  of  the  In 
dians,  and  the  manner  of  making  them.  So  exorbitant, 
that  the  natives  complain  they  have  not  a  country  left  to 
subsist  in,"2  John  Penn  himself,  later  on,  admitted  the 
just  cause  of  the  Indians'  complaint  for  past  injuries,  and 
would  gladly  have  removed  them  when  it  was  too  late.3 

The  serious  consequences  to  the  British  interests  occa 
sioned  an  appeal  to  the  Proprietors  through  the  Lords 
Commissioners  of  Trade,  with  the  result  that  they  agreed 
to  limit  the  bounds  of  the  purchase  of  1754.  A  Commis 
sion  was  sent  over,  authorizing  and  directing  a  treaty  to 
be  held  for  that  purpose.  Previous  to  this  treaty,  great 
exertions  were  made  by  the  Quakers  to  bring  about  an 
accommodation  with  the  Delawares  and  the  Shawanese. 
First  a  treaty  was  made  at  Hasten,  1756,  with  those  living 
in  Pennsylvania,  but  not  until  war  had  been  declared  on 
them  by  Governor  Morris,  and  premiums  offered  for  their 
scalps.  Next,  in  conjunction  with  Forbes,  in  1758,  the 
Moravian  missionary,  Frederick  Post,  was  sent  to  the  Ohio 


1  Votes  of  Assembly,  vol.  4,  p.  492. 

2  Ibid,  pp.  718-738. 

3  Ibid,  vol.  6,  pp.  7-8. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         19 

to  induce  the  Delawares  and  Shawanese  there  to  join  their 
brethren  of  Pennsylvania  in  a  treaty  of  peace.  His  mis 
sion  was  successful;  and  coupled  with  Forbes'  victory, 
it  made  the  great  convention  at  Easton  in  October,  1758, 
possible.  There  were  present  about  300  chiefs,  and  they 
had  from  the  7th  to  the  26th  of  the  month  to  state  all  their 
complaints  about  ill-treatment  and  land-stealing.  The 
result  was  that  the  Proprietors  reconveyed  to  the  Indians 
the  land  of  the  Albany  purchase  which  had  been  unjustly 
taken.  The  treaty  of  Easton  went  far  to  restore  the  con 
ditions  that  had  prevailed  before  the  walking  purchase  and 
the  other  aggressions,  which  had  alienated  the  Red  Man, 
and  driven  him  into  an  alliance  with  the  French. 

Though  the  Proprietary  were  more  cautious  now  not 
to  offend  the  Indians,  the  settlers  on  the  frontier  had  no 
more  regard  for  savage  rights  than  before.  Proclamations 
had  to  be  issued  repeatedly,  from  1761  to  1763,  command 
ing  settlers  on  unpurchased  Indian  lands  to  evacuate  and 
abandon  them.  However,  the  fearless  Scotch-Irish  and 
the  determined  New  Englander  pushed  ever  farther  into 
the  wilderness  ;  nor  was  the  plodding  German  far  behind 
them.  Proclamations  had  no  terror  for  these.  All  that 
the  Quakers  and  the  Moravians,  and  England  herself,1 
could  do  to  maintain  peace  was  done  ;  but  their  efforts 
could  not  prevent  Pontiac's  Conspiracy,  with  its  horrible 
memories  of  Wyoming  and  Paxtang.  It  might  be  sup 
posed  that  the  fate  of  the  Yankees  on  the  North  Branch, 
and  the  atrocities  of  the  murder  of  the  Conestogas, 
would  have  had  a  deterrent  effect  on  the  land-grabbing 
propensities  of  the  frontiersmen  ;  but  it  had  not.  Sir 
William  Johnson  wrote  to  General  Gage,  in  1766,  that 
murders  were  committed  daily,  and  that  Indian  war  was 


1  TrumbullMSS.,  Mass.  Hist.  Society. 


20         Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

inevitable.  Proclamations  against  trespass  were  again 
issued,  but  they  were  of  non-effect,  and  simply  laughed 
at.  What  made  matters  worse,  the  Scotch-Irish  and  the 
Quakers  had  become  bitter  political  enemies  through  the 
exigencies  of  the  Indian  wars,  as  the  following  doggerel 
plainly  shows  : 

"  Go  on,  good  Christians,  never  spare 
To  give  your  Indians  clothes  to  wear  ; 
Send  'em  good  beef  and  pork  and  beans, 
Guns,  powder,  flints  and  store  of  lead, 
To  shoot  your  neighbors  through  the  head  ; 
Devoutly  then  make  affirmation, 
You're  friends  to  George  and  British  nation  ; 
Encourage  every  friendly  savage 
To  murder,  burn,  destroy  and  ravage  ; 
Fathers  and  mothers  here  maintain, 
Whose  sons  add  numbers  to  the  slain  ; 
Of  Scotch  and  Irish  let  them  kill 
As  many  thousands  as  they  will, 
That  you  may  lord  it  o'er  the  land, 
And  have  the  whole  and  sole  command." 

By  an  Act  passed  February  3,  1768,  to  continue  in  force 
one  year,  all  persons  were  interdicted  from  settling  on  the 
Indian  lands  under  the  highest  forfeiture  known  in  society, 
namely,  death  without  benefit  of  clergy. x  Exception  was 
made  in  favor  of  settlers  holding  licenses  from  British 
officers  to  settle  on  the  military  roads  leading  to  Fort  Pitt. 
All  efforts  to  keep  the  settlers  out  of  the  unpurchased 
lands  proving  non-effective,  the  last  purchase  by  the  Pro 
prietary  from  the  Indians  was  made  at  Fort  Stanwix,  in 
1768.  The  purchase  included  all  of  the  Province  not  pre 
viously  bought,  except  the  part  lying  north  and  west  of  a 
line  which  ran  from  a  point  just  west  of  Fort  Stanwix, 
south  to  the  Susquehanna,  thence  up  the  West  Branch 


1  Smith's  Laws,  vol.  2,  p.  570. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         21 

and  across  to  Kittanning  on  the  Allegheny,  thence  down 
that  river  and  the  Ohio.  It  was  understood  by  the  In 
dians  that  no  white  man  was  to  settle  to  the  west  of  the 
line  agreed  upon.1  In  the  deed  there  was  an  uncertainty 
as  to  what  was  the  boundary  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
West  Branch.  To  prevent  controversy  with  the  Indians, 
no  lands  were  permitted  to  be  surveyed  to  the  west  of 
Incoming  creek  ;  and  a  law  was  again  passed  punishing, 
by  a  fine  of  500  pounds  and  twelve  months'  imprisonment, 
any  person  settling  or  surveying  lands  thereon.  The 
reasons  for  passing  such  stringent  laws  were  the  fears  of 
another  war ; 2  but  the  law  did  not  deter  adventurers  from 
squatting  on  forbidden  lands  of  the  West  Branch.  They 
were  a  little  state  of  their  own,  administered  justice 
after  primitive  fashion  down  to  the  time  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  and  by  a  singular  coincidence  passed  a  declaration 
of  independence  from  Great  Britain  on  the  same  day  it 
was  passed  by  the  Congress  in  Philadelphia.  In  1778 
these  "fair-play  "  men,  so  called  from  their  methods  of 
adjusting  difficulties,  paid  dearly  for  their  lands  with  the 
lives  of  their  wives  and  children  taken  by  the  Indians  in 
revenge  for  unfair  treatment. 

It  is  clearly  seen  that  the  trespass  upon  unpurchased 
lands  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  unjust  and  illegal  trans 
actions  in  land — so  rare  in  the  lifetime  of  Penn,  but  so 
common  under  the  rule  of  his  heirs — were  fresh  in  the 
memory  of  the  Indians  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution 
nor  could  they  have  forgotten  the  unscrupulous  dealings 
and  licentious  acts  of  the  traders,  the  squatters  of  the 
Juniata  and  the  L,ycoming,  the  murder  of  the  Conestogas, 
the  rewards  for  scalps  offered  by  Morris3  and  John 

1  Smith's  Laws,  vol.  2,  p.  122. 

2  Votes  of  Assembly,  vol.  6,  pp.  7-8. 

3  Colonial  Records,  vol.  7,  p.  88. 


22         Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

Penn,1  and  other  outrageous  things  unbecoming  a  Chris 
tian  people.  With  a  civilized  people  these  memories  of 
past  wrongs,  formally  adjusted  by  treaties,  would  not  have 
been  casus  belli  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  With  the 
Indians  they  were,  especially  under  the  instigations  of 
British  emissaries  and  American  traitors. 

The  first  opportunity  for  British  intrigues  with  the  In 
dians  was  found  in  Lord  Dunmore's  war.  There  was  a 
belief,  prevalent  even  before  it  began,  that  Great  Britain, 
facing  an  inevitable  conflict  with  the  colonies,  was  anxious 
for  an  Indian  war,  to  afford  an  excuse  for  the  presence  of 
her  standing  army  in  America.2  For  many  years  after 
wards  L,ord  Dunmore  himself  was  suspected  of  having 
had  a  secret  understanding  with  the  Indians,  "  looking 
to  the  almost  certain  results  of  the  commotions  which 
were  agitating  America. ' ' 3  Though  this  view  is  not  now 
held,  he  certainly  made  the  acquaintance  of  men  on  the 
frontier  in  1774,  whom  he  afterwards  regarded  as  fit  in 
struments  to  foment  war  on  the  frontier.  Among  these 
was  Simon  Girty,  one  of  three  white  renegade  brothers. 
They  had  been  taken  captive  by  the  Indians  while  the 
French  held  Fort  Duquesne,  and  they  lived  among  the 
savages  for  some  time.  Simon  Girty  now  lived  at  Pitts- 
burg,  where  Dunmore  met  him  and  employed  him  as  a 
scout.4  In  February,  1775,  when  the  Virginia  courts 
were  organized  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  Simon  Girty 
was  appointed  magistrate  by  Governor  Dunmore,  and  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  his  majesty  King  George  III. 
Of  course,  this  was  a  formal  proceeding  incident  to  taking 
the  office  ;  yet,  though  he  was  loyal  for  a  time  to  the  colo- 


1  Colonial  Records,  vol.  9.  p.  189. 

2  American  Archives,  4th  Series,  vol.  1,  p.  1018. 

3  Wither's  Border  Warfare,  p.  177. 

4  History  of  the  Girtys,  p.  27. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         23 

nies,  it  is  evident  that  he  sided  with  the  Mother  Country 
at  that  time,  from  the  fact  that  his  name  was  on  the 
"  MS.  List  "  of  "  Persons  well-Disposed  to  his  Majesty's 
Government,  Living  on  the  Frontiers  of  Virginia,"  sent 
by  Dunmore  to  Lord  George  Germaine. *  This  list  finally 
reached  Governor  Hamilton,  at  Detroit,  in  1777  ;  and  the 
next  year  we  find  Simon  Girty  and  his  brothers  aiding  the 
British  in  the  border  war  against  Pennsylvania,2  having 
been  recommended  by  Lord  Dunmore  as  one  of  the  num 
ber  having  "  extensive  influence  among  the  inhabitants" 
in  Western  Pennsylvania. 

Another  man  met  by  Dunmore  in  1774,  and  one  of  far 
more  value  to  the  British  cause  on  the  frontier,  was  Dr. 
John  Connelly,  the  Benedict  Arnold  of  Western  Pennsyl 
vania.  He  was  born  at  Wright's  Ferry,  and  was  half- 
brother  of  General  James  Ewing,  of  York  county,  and  a 
nephew  of  Colonel  Croghan,  the  British  Indian  Agent. 
He  distinguished  himself  in  Pontiac's  Conspiracy,  and 
afterwards  settled  at  Pittsburg.  When  the  contentions 
for  Western  Pennsylvania  arose  between  Pennsylvania 
and  Virginia,  he  sided  with  the  latter  because  he  thought 
she  had  the  best  claims  ; 3  and  he  became  her  willing  ser 
vant,  being  made  Commandant  of  the  militia,  January 
ist,  1774,  by  Lord  Dunmore.  In  this  position  he  became 
very  obnoxious  to  the  authorities  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  arrested  by  Arthur  St.  Clair,  one  of  the  justices  of 
the  peace  for  Westmoreland  county.  He  was  released  by 
the  sheriff,4  but  he  took  possession  of  Pittsburg,  changed 
the  name  of  Fort  Pitt  to  Fort  Dunmore,  assailed  the  Penn 
sylvania  Court  at  Hannastown  with  an  armed  force  of  Vir- 


1  Haldimand  Papers. 

2  History  of  the  Gir  tys,  p.  59. 

3  Narrative  of  John  Connelly,  Pa.  Hist.  Mag-.,  vol.  12,  p.  312. 

4  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  4,  p.  484. 


24         Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

ginia  militia,  and  fomented  disturbance  between  the  Penn- 
sylvanians  and  the  Indians.1  The  war  of  1774  brought 
Dunmore  to  Pittsburg,  where  he  met  Connelly  ;  and  the 
two  went  forth  together  to  do  battle  with  the  Indians. 
From  this  association  sprang  up  an  acquaintance  that 
ripened  into  an  iniquitous  conspiracy. 

Before  Lord  Dunmore  had  issued  his  order  for  General 
Lewis'  retreat  after  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  in  Lord 
Dunmore's  war,  various  events  had  occurred  in  1774,  be 
ginning  with  the  destruction  of  the  tea  at  Boston,  in 
March,  and  ending  with  the  First  Continental  Congress 
at  Philadelphia,  in  September;  and  actual  hostilities  were 
only  a  question  of  time.  Dunmore  and  Connelly  now 
plotted  together  in  the  interests  of  Great  Britain.  Con 
nelly  got  a  letter  2  from  George  Washington  in  February, 
1775,  which  made  him  decide  instantly  "  to  exert  every 
faculty  in  defense  of  the  royal  cause."  He  had  all  the 
secrets  of  Gage,  Dunmore,  Sir  William  Johnson,  Sir  Guy 
Carleton,  and  he  knew  also  who  on  the  frontier  might  join 
the  King's  cause.  His  first  work  was,  by  advice  of  Lord 
Dunmore,3  to  "convene  the  Indians  to  a  treaty,  restore 
the  prisoners,  and  endeavor  to  incline  them  to  espouse  the 
royal  cause."  In  this  he  was  successful,  though  Vir 
ginia  at  the  same  time  had  her  agents  among  the  savages 
and  watched  his  actions  closely.  He  secured  a  large  belt 
of  wampum  to  be  transmitted  to  Lord  Dunmore,  and  from 
him  to  his  Majesty,  as  a  symbol  of  their  support.  The 
next  step  Connelly  took  was  to  induce  as  many  gentle 
men  of  consequence  as  possible  to  join  him  in  defense  of 
the  British  Government.  The  leading  men  approached 
by  him  were  Simon  Girty,  Alexander  McKee  and 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  4,  p.  527. 
1  Pennsylvania  Hist.  Mag.,  vol.  12,  p.  314. 
3  Ibid,  p.  315. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.  25 

Matthew  Elliott.  The  first  named  has  already  been 
mentioned  as  personally  well  known  to  L,ord  Dunmore. 
Alexander  McKee  was  a  native  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania, 
and  early  became  an  Indian  Agent  at  Pittsburg. 
When  Bedford  and  Westmoreland  counties  were  organ 
ized,  he  each  time  was  made  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
became  a  prominent  citizen.  Early  in  1776,  he  had  to 
give  his  parole  to  the  Virginia  authorities  not  to  trade 
with  the  Indians  in  behalf  of  the  Crown,  nor  to  leave  the 
vicinity  of  Fort  Pitt.  He  had  been  very  intimate  with 
Connelly, T  and  in  the  ' '  list  of  well  disposed, ' '  which  most 
likely  was  prepared  by  Dr.  Connelly  for  Dunmore,  McKee 
stands  first.2  On  March  28th,  1778,  he,  with  Girty  and 
Elliott,  escaped  to  Detroit,  and  he  was  ever  afterwards  an 
active  agent  of  the  British  against  the  Western  frontier. 
McKee 's  defection  was  looked  upon  as  foreboding  great 
disaster.3  Matthew  Elliott,  too,  was  an  Indian  trader, 
born  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania.  He  was  in  the  Indian 
country  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  and 
brought  the  message  to  the  Virginia  Governor  from  the 
Shawanese,  asking  for  peace.  All  these  were  well  re 
warded  by  Governor  Hamilton  for  their  traitorous  act, 
especially  McKee,  who  was  made  an  Indian  officer — Cap 
tain  and  Interpreter  in  the  Indian  department.4 

Having  attended  to  the  preliminaries  of  his  plot  with 
Dunmore,  Dr.  Connelly  now  proceeded  to  see  him,  but 
he  was  arrested  and  taken  to  Ligonier.  There  Arthur  St. 
Clair,  who  was  the  commander  of  the  militia,  "  with  the 
help  of  a  cheerful  glass,"  got  at  some  of  his  designs, 
which  were  communicated  to  Philadelphia.5  Connelly 

1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  4,  p.  695. 

2  History  of  the  Girtys,  p.  32. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.6,  p.  445. 

4  History  of  the  Girtys,  p.  63. 

5  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  4,  p.  637. 


26         Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

managed  to  get  free,  but  did  not  reach  Lord  Dunmore 
without  another  arrest.  Between  them  a  plan  was  formed 
in  July,  1775,  which  promised  fair.  A  co-operative  body 
of  troops  from  Canada  and  the  Western  frontiers  of  Penn 
sylvania  and  Virginia,  with  Indian  auxiliaries,  was  to  be 
ready  to  act  when  General  Howe  would  draw  the  atten 
tion  of  the  Americans  northward.  Connelly  was  dis 
patched  to  Gage  at  Boston,  who  approved  of  the  plan. 
But  the  Doctor  could  not  proceed  to  Canada  on  account 
of  the  American  invasion  already  begun.  So  he  returned 
to  Virginia,  where  Lord  Dunmore  gave  him  a  commission 
to  raise  troops  on  the  frontier,  and  with  a  body  of  Cana 
dians  and  Indians  form  a  junction  with  his  Lordship  at 
Alexandria.  He  got  as  far  as  an  inn,  five  miles  beyond 
Hagerstown,  Md.  He  had  an  address  1  with  him  from 
Lord  Dunmore  to  Captain  White-Byes,  which  was  de 
signed  to  influence  the  Indians  against  the  Americans  in 
case  of  hostilities,  by  offering  them  the  King's  protection 
in  the  possession  of  their  lands.  This  speech  was  enclosed 
in  a  letter  written  by  Connelly2  to  John  Gibson,  K?q., 
near  Fort  Dunmore.  In  this  letter  he  tried  to  persuade 
his  friend  on  the  frontier  not  to  cast  his  lot  "  with  enthu 
siasts,  whose  ill-timed  folly  must  draw  upon  them  inevi 
table  destruction."  The  letter  and  the  enclosed  contents 
fell  into  the  hands  of  some  Maryland  Minute  Men,  and 
they  arrested  Connelly.  He  was  sent  to  Philadelphia  and 
confined  in  jail,  by  order  of  Congress,  in  January,  1776. 
He  was  restored  to  liberty,  by  an  exchange  of  prisoners, 
in  October,  1780.  He  immediately  formed  another  plan 
on  paper  to  attack  the  frontiers,  possess  himself  of  Pitts- 
burg,  and  fortify  the  passes  of  the  Alleghenies  with  pro 
vincial  troops  and  Indian  auxiliaries.  It  was  not  acted 

1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  4,  p.  684. 

2  Pennsylvania  Hist.  Mag-.,  vol.  12,  p.  408. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.  27 

upon,  however,  by  the  British.  So  he  entered  the  army 
of  Cornwallis  in  Virginia,  and  was  again  captured  by  the 
Americans  and  held  as  a  prisoner  of  war  until  1783,  when 
he  went  to  England  with  the  defeated  army  of  Great 
Britain. 

The  advantage  to  the  British  of  an  offensive  and  de 
fensive  alliance  with  the  Indians,  thus  early  perceived  by 
Connelly  and  Dunmore  through  the  exigencies  of  the  war 
of  1774.  became  apparent  to  the  English  Ministry  and  the 
American  Congress  as  soon  as  the  Revolution  became  a 
fact.  Scattered  for  1,500  miles  along  the  whole  frontier, 
the  savages  were  desirable  friends  or  formidable  enemies 
to  either  Great  Britain  or  the  Colonies.  In  the  wars  be 
tween  the  English  and  the  French,  it  had  been  customary 
on  each  side  to  employ  them  as  auxiliaries.  In  the  com 
petition  for  their  friendship  at  this  time,  the  British  had 
great  advantages.  The  expulsion  of  the  French  from 
Canada  was  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of  the  Indians,  and 
inspired  ideas  of  martial  superiority  on  the  part  of  the 
British.  By  the  non-importation  act,  the  Colonies  had 
debarred  themselves  from  importing  the  articles  necessary 
for  Indian  wants.1  Since  1754,  the  transactions  with  the 
Indians  had  been  mostly  carried  on  by  Superintendents 
(See  page  5),  appointed  and  paid  by  the  King  of  Great 
Britain.  These  being  under  obligations  to  the  Crown, 
and  expecting  further  favors,  generally  used  their  influ 
ence  with  the  Indians  in  behalf  of  the  mother  country .  In 
Pennsylvania  the  deputy  agent  was  Colonel  George  Crog- 
han.  Born  in  Ireland,  but  coming  to  Pennsylvania,  he 
settled  near  the  site  of  Harrisburg,  and  was  an  Indian 
trader  as  early  as  1746.  Having  acquired  the  confidence 
of  the  Indians,  he  was  made  deputy  agent  under  Sir  Wil- 


1  The  Olden  Time,  p.  98,  Speech  to  Kiashuta,  by  Richard  Butler. 


28         Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

Ham  Johnson.  In  1763  he  was  sent  to  England  to  con 
fer  with  the  Ministry  in  relation  to  the  Indian  boundary 
line.  L,ater  he  was  sent  to  Illinois  to  pacify  the  Indians 
there.  After  his  return,  he  settled  at  Fort  Pitt,  and 
thereafter  rendered  valuable  service  in  pacifying  the  In 
dians,  and  conciliating  them  to  the  British  interests  up 
to  the  war  for  independence.1  He  had  no  great  love  for 
Connelly  in  I774,2  though  siding  with  Virginia  in  her 
quarrel  with  Pennsylvania.  St.  Clair  tells  Governor  Penn 
not  to  expect  real  friendship  from  him,  "  for  by  his  in 
terest  alone  he  is  regulated."  3  In  1775  we  find  him  at 
the  head  of  the  Committee  of  Observation  for  West 
Augusta  or  Fort  Pitt  ;4  and  at  a  session  in  April,  1776, 
when  Alexander  McKee  was  required  to  give  his  parole, 
he  was  still  on  the  side  of  the  Colonies.^  However,  in  a 
letter  written  by  John  Butler,  Guy  Johnson's  deputy  at 
Niagara  and  addressed  to  McKee,  Croghan  receives  the 
compliments  of  the  writer.  His  name  then  disappears 
from  the  records,  and  he  died  in  Philadelphia,  1782. 

That  the  Indian  agents  at  first  played  a  double  part 
was  more  fully  demonstrated  in  the  case  of  Guy  Johnson, 
the  successor  of  Sir  William,  than  in  that  of  McKee  and 
Croghan.  Being  citizens  of  the  Colonies,  yet  employed 
by  the  King,  their  duplicity  was  natural  as  long  as  the 
Revolutionary  movement  had  not  assumed  the  form  of 
independence.  After  July  4th,  1776,  a  double  role  was 
not  tolerated — then  a  Tory  was  a  traitor  and  a  Whig  a 
rebel.  In  May,  1775,  the  Provincial  Congress  addressed 
a  letter  to  Guy  Johnson,  respecting  a  rumor  that  he  in 
tended  to  set  the  Indians  upon  the  Americans.  In  his 


1  Letters  of  Col.  Croghan,  Pa.  Hist.  Mag-.,  vol.  15,  p.  429. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  4,  p.  507. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  4,  p.  523. 

4  Pennsylvania  Associates  and  Militia,  vol.  2,  p.  731. 

5  The  Olden  Time,  p.  99. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.        29 

reply,  written  from  Fort  Stanwix,  he  said  :  "  I  trust  I 
shall  always  manifest  more  humanity  than  to  promote  the 
destruction  of  the  innocent  inhabitants,  or  a  colony  to 
which  I  have  always  been  warmly  attached — a  declara 
tion  that  must  appear  perfectly  suitable  to  the  character 
of  a  man  of  honor  and  principle."1  Like  professions 
were  also  made  to  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  Tryon 
county.2  At  the  same  time,  under  the  secret  instruc 
tions  of  General  Gage,  he  arranged  with  more  than  3,000 
warriors  to  take  up  the  hatchet,  as  appears  from  a  letter 
to  Lord  Dartmouth,  written  in  October  following.3  One 
might  well  have  exclaimed  with  Hamlet,  "  Look  here  on 
this  picture  and  on  this."  After  enumerating  his  diffi 
culties  and  embarrassments,  he  adds  : 

"  And  having-  then  received  secret  instructions  from  General 
Gage,  respecting-  the  measures  I  had  to  take,  I  left  home  the 
last  of  that  month  (May),  and  by  the  help  of  a  body  of  white 
men  and  Indians,  arrived  with  great  difficulty  at  Ontario,  where 
in  a  little  time  I  assembled  1,455  Indians,  and  adjusted  matters 
with  them  in  such  a  manner  that  they  agreed  to  defend  the 
communication  and  assist  his  Majesty's  tribes  in  their  opera 
tions.  The  beg-inning-  of  July,  I  set  out  for  this  place  (Mon 
treal)  with  a  chosen  body  of  them,  and  rang-ers  to  the  number 
of  220,  not  being-  able  to  g-et  any  craft  or  provisions  for  more, 
and  arrived  here  the  17th  of  that  month,  and  soon  afterward 
convened  a  second  body  of  the  Northern  confederacy,  to  the 
amount  of  1,700  and  upwards,  who  entered  into  the  same  ar 
rangement,  notwithstanding- they  had  declined  coming- in  some 
time  before  I  g-ave  Carleton's  requisition,  their  minds  having- 
been  corrupted  by  New  England  emissaries." 

Colonel  Guy  Johnson,  as  well  as  General  Gage  and 
Governor  Carleton,  got  their  instructions  concerning  the 
employment  of  Indians  from  the  English  Government  ;4 

1  Proceedings  of  the  N.  Y.  Hist.  Society,  p.  165. 

2  American  Archives,  Series  4,  vol.  2,  p.  911. 

3  Proceedings  of  N.  Y.  Hist.  Society,  1845,  p.  165. 

4  Proceedings  of  the  N.  Y.  Hist.  Society,  1845,  pp.  166-167  ;  also,  Ameri 
can  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  3,  p.  6. 


30        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

and,  most  probably,  after  they  had  already  taken  steps  to 
employ  them  upon  their  own  responsibility.  In  answer 
to  a  letter  from  Guy  Johnson,  written  March  iyth,  1775, 
concerning  the  management  of  the  Indians  in  his  Maj  esty  's 
colonies.  Lord  Dartmouth  wrote,  July  5th,  giving  in 
structions  to  ' '  assure  them  in  the  strongest  terms  of  his 
Majesty's  firm  resolution  to  protect  them,  and  preserve 
them  in  all  their  rights,"  and  to  "  exert  the  utmost  vigi 
lance  to  discover  whether  any  artifices  are  used  to  engage 
them  in  the  support  of  the  rebellious  proceedings  of  his 
Majesty's  subjects,  to  counteract  such  treachery,  and  to 
keep  them  in  such  a  state  of  affection  and  attachment  to 
the  King  as  that  his  Majesty  may  rely  upon  their  assist 
ance  in  any  case  in  which  it  may  be  necessary  to  require 
it."  Nineteen  days  later,  when  news  of  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill  had  reached  London,  Dartmouth  writes  again 
to  Johnson.  He  says  that  "  the  intelligence  his  Majesty 
has  received  of  the  rebels  having  excited  the  Indians  to 
take  a  part,  and  of  their  actually  having  engaged  a  body 
of  them  in  arms  to  support  their  rebellion,  justifies  the 
resolution  his  Majesty  has  taken  of  requiring  the  assist 
ance  of  his  faithful  adherents,  the  Six  Nations."  Johnson 
was  to  "  lose  no  time  in  taking  such  steps  as  may  induce 
them  to  take  up  the  hatchet  against  his  Majesty's  rebel 
lious  subjects."  The  injunction  to  make  haste  was  un 
necessary,  for,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Indian  Superintend 
ent,  had  already  raised  two  large  bodies  of  warriors,  by 
order  of  General  Gage.  The  latter,  after  the  Americans 
had  surprised  Ticonderoga,  and  made  incursions  upon  the 
frontiers  of  Quebec,  wrote  to  Dartmouth,  June  i2th,  that 
General  Carleton  would  be  justified  "  to  raise  bodies  of 
Canadians  and  Indians  to  attack  them  in  return  ;  and  we 
need  not  be  tender  of  calling  on  the  savages,  as  the  rebels 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         31 

have  shown  us  the  example,  by  bringing  as  many  Indians 
down  against  us  here  as  they  could  collect."1  Lord 
Dunmore,  too,  May  ist,  held  out  the  encouraging  hope 
to  Dartmouth  that  he  could  "collect  from  among  the  In 
dians,  negroes  and  other  persons  a  force  sufficient,  if  not 
to  subdue  the  rebellion,  at  least  to  defend  Government."2 
These  letters  from  America  concerning  the  employment 
of  Indians  received  the  endorsement  of  the  King  and  his 
Ministry.  In  planning  the  campaign  of  1776,  the  Indians 
were  to  constitute  a  part  of  the  British  army  in  North 
America,3  and  Colonel  Johnson  was  to  follow  the  exam 
ple  of  the  rebels,  reported  by  Gage,  and  engage  a  body  of 
Indians  by  means  of  "a  large  assortment  of  goods  for 
presents,"  to  be  sent  out  "by  the  first  ship-of-war." 

The  instructions  of  the  British  Ministry  to  Guy  John 
son,  in  1775,  led  to  the  disintegration  of  the  Iroquois 
confederacy.  A  large  number  of  the  Oneidas  and  Tus- 
caroras  refused  to  take  up  the  hatchet  against  the  Ameri 
cans,  and  thus  defeated  the  British  alliance  as  an  act  of 
the  league.  It  was,  therefore,  resolved  to  let  each  nation 
engage  in  the  war  upon  its  own  responsibility.  The 
great  council-fire,  which  had  burned  so  long  at  Onondaga, 
went  out,  never  to  be  rekindled.  Johnson  held  several 
councils  at  other  places  now,  and  finally  went  to  Mon 
treal,  accompanied  by  3,000  chiefs  and  warriors,  the  most 
noted  among  whom  was  Joseph  Brandt,  or  Thayenda- 
nega.  There  Sir  Guy  Carleton  and  Sir  Frederick  Haldi- 
inand  completed  the  work  of  winning  the  Indians  of  the 
Six  Nations  over  to  the  cause  of  the  Crown.  In  a  speech 
delivered  by  Brandt  in  1803,  reviewing  the  services  of  the 
Six  Nations  in  the  Revolution,  he  said,  that  at  Montreal 


1  American  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  2,  p.  968. 

2  Ibid,  vol.  3,  p.  6. 

3  Ibid. 


32        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

the  English  General  told  them  what  "had  befallen  the 
King's  subjects,  and  said,  now  is  the  time  for  you  to  help 
the  King.  The  war  has  commenced.  Assist  the  King 
now  and  you  will  find  it  to  your  advantage.  Go  now 
and  fight  for  your  possessions,  and  whatever  you  lose  of 
your  property  during  the  war  the  King  will  make  to  you 
when  peace  returns.  The  Canghnawaga  Indians  then 
joined  themselves  to  us.  We  immediately  commenced 
in  good  earnest,  and  did  our  utmost  during  the  war."1 

Brandt  next  visited  "The  Great  King,"  as  the  British 
Monarch  was  styled  by  the  Indians,  arriving  in  London 
early  in  1776.  He  probably  made  the  visit  to  satisfy  him 
self  as  to  the  wisdom  of  his  agreement  so  hastily  made  at 
Montreal.  What  were  the  particular  arguments  addressed 
to  the  Mohawk  in  the  British  Capital,  to  convince  him 
that  the  arms  of  the  King  would  be  victorious  in  the  end, 
is  not  known.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  whatever 
doubts  he  may  have  had  were  effectually  dispelled  ;  since, 
in  May  following,  we  find  him  with  600  warriors  at  the 
massacre  of  the  Cedars,  where  the  savages,  under  the 
command  of  a  British  officer,  but  not  within  his  control, 
murdered  several  American  prisoners,  and  excited  the 
strongest  feelings  of  indignation  in  America.2  Washing 
ton,  July  1 5th,  writes  to  the  President  of  Congress  that 
the  inhuman  treatment  accorded  to  the  American  pris 
oners,  and  the  murder  of  some  of  them,  deserved  measures 
of  retaliation  of  the  severest  kind.  Although  an  Indian 
policy  had  already  been  devised  in  the  Colonies,  it  was 
radically  modified  about  this  time.  Previously  it  had 
been  one  of  conciliation. 

The  first  reference  in  the  '  'Journal  of  Congress  ' '  to 


1  Stone's  Life  of  Brandt,  vol.  1,  p.  90. 

2  American  Archives,  5th  series,  vol.  1,  pp.  350  and  1573. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         33 

the  Indians  was  made  June  ist,  1775. *  A  petition  from 
Fort  Pitt,  intimating  "  fears  of  a  rupture  with  the  Indians 
on  account  of  Lord  Dunmore's  conduct,"  and  desiring 
"  commissioners  from  the  Colony  of  Virginia  and  the 
Province  of  Pennsylvania  to  attend  a  conference  of  the 
Indians  at  Pittsburg,  on  behalf  of  the  Colonies,"  was  re 
ferred  to  the  delegates  of  these  two  Colonies.  A  few 
weeks  later,2  information  had  reached  Congress  that  Gov 
ernor  Carleton  was  ' '  instigating  the  Indian  Nations  to 
take  up  the  hatchet  against  them."  On  July  ist,  it  was 
resolved  3  that  in  case  any  British  agent  should  induce 
any  of  the  Indian  tribes  to  commit  actual  hostilities,  the 
Colonies  should  seek  to  make  an  alliance  with  such  tribes 
in  opposition  to  the  British.  For  the  purpose  therefore 
of  closer  observation  and  more  efficient  action  in  respect 
to  the  Indian  relations,  an  Indian  Department,  with  three 
subdivisions — a  Northern,  Middle  and  Southern — was 
created,  July  i2th,4  and  commissioners  were  appointed 
for  each.  They  had  "  power  to  treat  with  the  Indians  in 
their  respective  departments  in  the  name,  and  in  behalf, 
of  the  United  Colonies,  in  order  to  preserve  peace  and 
friendship  with  the  said  Indians,  and  to  prevent  their 
taking  any  part  in  the  present  commotions . ' '  Money  was 
appropriated  to  the  commissioners  for  defraying  the  ex 
pense  of  treaties  and  presents  ;  and  power  was  given  to 
them  to  arrest  and  take  into  safe  custody  the  King's 
agents,  or  any  other  person  whatsoever,  that  might  be 
found  inciting  the  Indians  against  the  Colonies.  The 
form  of  an  address  to  the  several  tribes  in  all  the  depart 
ments  was  agreed  upon,  to  be  altered  as  occasion  might 
require,  for  local  adaptation.  That  its  purpose  was  to 

1  Vol.  1,  p.  105. 

2  Secret  Journal,  p.  19. 

3  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  1,  p.  132 

4  Ibid,  p.  151. 


34        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

secure  neutrality,  is  evident  from  these  words  :  "  This  is 
a  family  quarrel  between  us  and  old  England.  You  In 
dians  are  not  concerned  in  it.  We  do  not  wish  you  to 
take  up  the  hatchet  against  the  King's  troops.  We  de 
sire  you  to  remain  at  home,  and  not  join  on  either  side, 
but  keep  the  hatchet  buried  deep." 

No  time  was  lost  by  the  commissioners  in  the  adop 
tion  of  measures  to  carry  out  this  policy.  A  council-fire 
was  kindled  by  the  commissioners  of  the  Northern  De 
partment  at  the  German  Flats,  for  such  of  the  Six  Na 
tions  who  had  not  followed  Brandt.  It  continued  at 
Albany,  in  the  month  of  August,  for  three  weeks.  The 
address  of  Congress  was  read  to  them,  and  pronounced 
by  them  as  containing  ' '  nothing  but  what  was  pleasant 
and  good."1  The  reply,  however,  gave  evidence  that 
the  ' '  forked  tongue  ' '  of  Guy  Johnson  had  been  speaking 
to  them .  Requests  were  made  for  lands  unj  ustly  taken ,  to 
be  restored  by  the  Colonies.  ' '  If  you  refuse  to  do  this, ' ' 
said  L,ittle  Abraham,  the  Mohawk  sachem  of  the  Lower 
Castle,  "  we  shall  look  upon  the  prospect  as  bad  ;  for,  if 
you  conquer,  you  will  take  us  by  the  hand  and  pull  us  all 
off. ' '  Allusion  was  also  made  by  an  Oneida  chief  to  the 
pending  bloody  and  bitter  controversy  between  Connecti 
cut  and  Pennsylvania,  in  the  territory  of  Wyoming.  The 
result,  however,  was  highly  satisfactory  to  the  commis 
sioners,  and  apparently  so  to  the  Indians.  Most  unfor 
tunately,  the  Indians  on  their  return  from  Albany  were 
seized  with  a  malignant  fever,  which  carried  off  great 
numbers  of  them.  The  survivors  regarded  it  as  a  Divine 
visitation  for  not  having  joined  the  side  of  the  King.  The 
events  of  no  distant  day  proved  that  the  Albany  treaty 
had  accomplished  no  permanent  good. 


1  Stone's  Life  of  Brandt,  tol.  1,  pp.  94-104. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         35 

The  same  fine  promises  were  received  in  October  by 
the  commissioners  of  the  Middle  Department  at  Pittsburg. 
A  strict  neutrality  was  urged  upon  the  Indians,  and  they 
agreed  to  it.  Yet  in  November  following  they  impor 
tuned  Governor  Hamilton,  at  Detroit,  for  his  assent  to 
make  inroads  on  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania.  *  In  July, 
1776,  another  conference  was  held  at  Pittsburg,  and 
neutrality  promised  by  the  Delawares,  Shawanese  and 
Mingoes. 2  The  Iroquois,  too,  announced  that  their  tribes 
would  permit  neither  the  Americans  nor  the  English  to 
march  an  army  through  their  territory.  Yet  at  the  same 
time  a  party  of  Mingoes  tried  to  kill. the  American  Indian 
agents,  and  some  of  the  Shawanese  warriors  journeyed 
down  to  the  Cherokees  and  gave  them  the  war-belt. 

Whatever  Congress  did,  therefore,  in  1775,  respecting 
Indian  relations,  was  in  the  line  of  neutrality.  It  is  true, 
Massachusetts,  before  the  encounter  at  Lexington  and 
Concord,  had  enlisted  in  its  service  a  company  of  Minute 
Men  among  the  Stockbridge  or  River  Indians  residing  in 
that  Colony,  and  had  even  written  a  letter  to  Rev.  Samuel 
Kirkland,  a  missionary  to  the  Indians  in  the  western  part 
of  New  York  :  "  That  you  will  use  your  influence  with 
them  to  join  with  us  in  the  defense  of  our  rights  ;  but,  if 
you  cannot  prevail  with  them  to  take  an  active  part  in 
this  glorious  cause,  that  you  will  at  least  engage  them  to 
stand  neuter,  and  not  by  any  means  to  aid  and  assist  our 
enemies."3  The  Stockbridge  Indians  were  retained  in 
service  for  some  time  after  the  war  began,  and  came  down 
and  joined  the  camp  at  Cambridge. 

Outside  of  this  act  of  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Massa 
chusetts,  no  effort  was  made  to  engage  the  Indians  in 


1  History  of  the  Girtys,  p.  37. 

2  American  Archives,  5th  series,  vol.  1,  p.  36. 

3  Spark's  Life  and  Writing's  of  Washing-ton,  vol.  3,  p.  495. 


36        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

active  service  until  May  25th,  1776;  Congress  then  re 
solved  "  that  it  was  highly  expedient  to  engage  the  In 
dians  in  the  service  of  the  United  Colonies ; ' '  and  they 
empowered  the  Commander-in-Chief  to  employ  in  Canada 
and  elsewhere  a  nnmber  not  exceeding  2,000,  offering 
them  "  a  reward  of  $100  for  every  commissioned  officer 
and  $30  for  every  private  soldier  of  the  King's  troops  that 
they  should  take  prisoner  in  the  Indian  country  or  on  the 
frontiers  of  these  Colonies."  The  Indians  of  Penobscot, 
St.  John's  and  Nova  Scotia  were  likewise  to  be  taken 
into  the  service. *  Whether  any  of  these  Eastern  Indians 
were  ever  employed  is  not  known.  Washington  favored 
their  employment,  as  appears  from  his  correspondence 
with  General  Schuyler,  in  reference  to  the  execution  of 
the  resolutions  of  1776;  2  and  later  again,  when  he  wrote 
from  Valley  Forge,  in  1778, 3  for  a  body  of  400  warriors 
authorized  by  Congress.  However,  he  wanted  them  di 
vested  of  the  savage  customs  exercised  in  their  wars 
against  each  other,  and  used  as  scouts  and  light  troops 
mixed  with  Continental  parties.  Schuyler  did  not  favor 
the  scheme,  and  wanted  to  know  where  2,000  warriors, 
not  already  in  the  service  of  the  British,  were  to  be  found. 
He  felt  sure  that  what  little  aid  the  Americans  could  get 
from  the  Indians  would  cost  more  than  it  was  worth. 

Schuyler 's  position  was  proven  to  be  correct.  Even 
the  British  were  greatly  disappointed.  Though  they  were 
successful  in  getting  the  Indians  to  join  their  armies,  yet 
the  results  were  not  commensurate  with  the  cost,  espe 
cially  when  it  is  considered  what  opprobrium  attached  to 
their  employment.  Burgoyne's  experience  with  them 
aroused  the  indignation  of  his  own  country.  Though  he 

1  Secret  Journals,  May  25th,  June  3rd,  8th  and  17th. 

2  Spark's  Life  and  Writings  of  Washing-ton,  vol.  3,  p.  406. 

3  Ibid,  vol.  5,  p.  274. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.  37 

tried  to  restrain  the  excesses  and  barbarities  of  the  In 
dians  under  his  command,  charging  them  only  to  kill 
those  opposing  them  in  arms,  and  to  spare  old  men, 
women,  children  and  prisoners,  yet  friends  of  the  Royal 
cause,  as  well  as  its  enemies,  were  victims  to  the  indis 
criminate  rage  of  the  savages.  It  was  ascertained  that 
even  the  British  officers  were  deceived  by  their  treacher 
ous  allies  into  the  purchase  of  the  scalps  of  their  own 
comrades.1  Burgoyne  commenced  his  campaign  when 
the  British  Government  had  no  more  scruples  in  "  letting 
loose  the  horrible  hell-hounds  of  savage  war,"  as  Chat 
ham  said,  and  was  fully  prepared  to  do  it.  In  his  procla 
mation  to  the  Americans,  June  29th,  1777, 2  he  says  :  "I 
have  but  to  give  stretch  to  the  Indian  forces  under  my 
direction,  and  they  amount  to  thousands,  to  overtake  the 
hardened  enemies  of  Great  Britain  and  America.  I  con 
sider  them  the  same  wherever  they  lurk  .  .  .  The  mes 
sengers  of  justice  and  of  wrath  wait  them  in  the  field  ; 
and  devastation,  famine  and  every  concomitant  horror 
that  a  reluctant,  but  indispensable,  prosecution  of  mili 
tary  duty  must  occasion,  will  bar  the  way  to  their  return. ' ' 
It  was  about  the  same  time  that  the  border  warfare  was 
begun  on  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania,  in  pursuance  of 
the  suggestion  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth  by  Governor 
Hamilton,  in  a  letter  written  at  Detroit,  September  2, 
I776.3  L,ord  George  Germaine,  after  duly  weighing 
Hamilton's  proposition,  wrote  from  White  Hall,  March 
26,  1777,  to  Sir  Guy  Carleton  that  "it  is  his  Majesty's 
resolution  that  the  most  vigorous  efforts  should  be  made, 
and  every  means  employed  that  Providence  has  put  into 
his  Majesty's  hands,  for  crushing  the  rebellion."4  He 

1  Life  of  Brandt,  vol.  1,  p.  205. 

2  Remembrancer,  1777,  p.  211. 

3  Germaine  to  Carleton,  Michigan  Pioneer  Collections,  vol.  9,  pp.  346-47. 

4  Ibid. 


38        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

instructed  Carleton  to  direct  Hamilton,  which  was  done 
May  2ist,  to  assemble  as  many  of  the  Indians  in  his  dis 
trict  as  possible,  and  employ  them  in  making  a  diversion 
and  exciting  an  alarm  upon  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania, 
restraining  "  them  from  committing  violence  on  the  well- 
affected  and  inoffensive  inhabitants." 

Such  was  the  Indian  policy  of  the  British  Ministry 
when  Burgoyne's  savages  went  forth  on  their  murderous 
mission,  and  brought  disgrace  and  indignation  upon  his 
head.  Their  defeat  at  Oriskany,  and  their  flight  at  St. 
Legers,  contributed  to  the  surrender  of  the  army,1  while 
the  bloody  tale  of  Jane  McCrea  and  her  companions  at 
Fort  Edward  made  English  statesmen  blush  with  shame.2 
Said  Earl  Chatham  :  ' '  We  have  sullied  and  tarnished  the 
armies  of  Britain  forever,  by  employing  savages  in  our 
service,  by  drawing  them  up  in  a  British  line,  and  mixing 
the  scalping  knife  and  tomahawk  with  the  sword  and  fire 
lock."  Nor  did  the  caution  given  to  the  Indians,  not  to 
slaughter  the  aged  men,  the  women  and  children,  and  the 
unresisting  prisoners,  and  on  no  account  to  take  scalps 
from  wounded  or  dying  men,  excuse  the  British  Ministry. 
1 '  Suppose, ' '  said  Burke,  ' '  that  there  was  a  riot  on  Tower 
Hill.  What  would  the  keeper  of  his  Majesty's  lions  do  ? 
Would  he  fling  open  the  dens  of  the  wild  beasts  and  then 
address  them  thus  :  '  My  gentle  lions,  my  humane  bears, 
my  tender-hearted  hyenas,  go  forth  !  But  I  exhort  you, 
as  you  are  Christians  and  members  of  civilized  societies, 
to  take  care  not  to  hurt  any  man,  woman  or  child  ?'  " 

As  to  whether  the  Americans  or  the  British  began  the 
movement  of  employing  the  Indians,  is  an  unsolved  ques 
tion.  The  blame  for  their  cruelties  on  the  border  inhab 
itants  was  laid  at  the  door  of  the  British  Ministry  by  the 

1  Cobbett's  Parliamentary  Histonr,  vol.  19,  p.  506. 

2  Ibid,  p.  489. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.          39 

Americans  and  by  the  Whigs  of  England.1  Burke  said, 
the  difference  between  employing  savages  against  armed 
and  trained  soldiers,  as  the  Americans  had  done,  referring 
to  the  Stockbridge  Indians,  and  employing  them  against 
the  unarmed,  defenseless  men,  women  and  children,  left 
those  who  attempted  so  inhuman  and  unequal  a  retalia 
tion  without  excuse.  Lord  Germaine  said  he  had  no  al 
ternative,  for  "  they  either  would  have  served  against  us, 
or  we  must  have  employed  them."  Lord  North  looked 
upon  the  employment  of  Indians  as  bad,  but  unavoidable. 
If  censure  were  to  be  meted  out  by  the  effects  produced, 
England  would  have  been  much  more  reprehensible  than 
the  Americans.  But  when  the  intent  is  considered,  and 
not  the  success  of  the  measure,  historical  justice  must 
award  to  the  Americans  a  due  share  of  the  blame.2 
Neither  the  Americans  nor  the  English  found  the  Indians 
of  any  use  as  soldiers  of  the  line.  As  the  British  occu 
pied  the  frontiers,  they  could  use  them  to  harass  the 
Americans  in  the  rear,  and  draw  off  their  forces  from  the 
seaboard.  As  offensive  allies,  the  Indians  were  therefore 
of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  British  ;  while  to  the 
Americans,  they  could  be  of  no  advantage,  except  as 
neutrals.  Bearing  this  in  mind,  it  is  readily  seen  why 
Congress  made  treaties  of  neutrality  and  the  British  sought 
to  break  them. 

To  defend  the  frontiers  against  the  Indians  thus  allied 
with  the  British,  and  at  the  same  time  meet  the  calls  of 
Congress  for  the  war  on  the  seaboard,  was  a  tremendous 
task  for  the  Colonies  ;  but  none  were  put  to  the  test  more 
severely  than  Pennsylvania,  with  its  long  line  of  border 
settlements,  its  boundary  disputes  with  Connecticut  and 
Virginia,  its  heterogeneous  population,  its  voluntary 

1  Almon's  Parliamentary  Register,  vol.  8,  pp.  349-353. 

2  Sparks. 


40        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

militia,  and  its  conscientious  scruples  against  war.  The 
only  other  Colonies  whose  frontier  exposure  could  com 
pare  with  that  of  Pennsylvania  were  New  York  and  Vir 
ginia.  But  while  New  York  had  its  Mohawk  Valley  and 
Virginia  its  Ohio  Valley  to  defend,  Pennsylvania  had  its 
Delaware,  Wyoming,  West  Branch,  Juniata  and  Ohio 
Valleys  to  defend.  While  New  York  had  its  Tryon 
county  and  Virginia  its  West  Augusta  and  Kentucky  dis 
tricts  on  the  frontier,  Pennsylvania  had  its  Northampton, 
Northumberland,  Bedford  and  Westmoreland  counties. 
In  three  of  these  five  frontier  valleys  of  Pennsylvania 
there  was  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  a  fierce  civil 
strife  raging. 

In  the  North  and  West  Branch  valleys  of  the  Susque- 
hanna  the  Pennamite  and  Yankee  war  was  at  its  height 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution.  On  the  28th  of  Sep 
tember,  1775, 1  a  plantation  on  the  West  Branch,  about 
sixty  miles  above  Sunbury,  was  attacked  by  a  body  of 
Northumberland  militia,  who,  after  killing  one  man  and 
wounding  several  others,  made  prisoners  of  the  other  set 
tlers,  and  conducted  them  to  Sunbury.  About  the  same 
time  a  number  of  boats  trading  down  the  North  Branch 
from  Wyoming,  were  attacked  and  plundered  by  the 
Pennamites.  ' '  Considering  the  most  perfect  union  be 
tween  all  the  Colonies  necessary,"  Congress,  November 
4th,2  passed  resolutions  urging  Pennsylvania  and  Con 
necticut  to  take  speedy  measures  to  prevent  such  hostili 
ties.  The  voice  of  Congress,  however,  was  unheeded. 
By  authority  of  Governor  Penn,  Colonel  Plunkett,  of 
Sunbury,  was  authorized  to  raise  a  force  and  expel  the 
Connecticut  settlers  from  Wyoming.  When  Congress 
heard  of  this  movement,  it  again  passed  resolutions  urging 

1  Stone's  History  of  Wyoming-,  p.  187. 

2  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  1,  pp.  215-216. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.        41 

Pennsylvatiians  to  refrain  from  hostilities  until  the  dispute 
could  be  legally  decided.1  Colonel  Plunket  had  already 
marched  ;  and  in  the  closing  days  of  December  he  en 
countered  the  Yankees  at  Nanticoke  Falls.  One  of  his 
men  was  killed  by  the  first  fire  and  several  others  wounded. 
Other  circumstances  being  likewise  unfavorable,  he  aban 
doned  the  expedition.  The  civil  feud  now  ceased.  Con 
gress  recommended  to  Connecticut  not  to  introduce  any 
more  settlers  into  Wyoming  :  2  while  the  Proprietors  of 
Pennsylvania,  having  lost  their  government,  were  no 
longer  able  to  continue  hostilities.  Both  Colonies  laid 
their  differences  aside  for  the  time  being,  and  joined  in 
the  common  cause  of  liberty. 

Excepting  some  correspondence  between  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania  at  the  opening  of  the  French  and  Indian 
War,  their  boundary  question  was  no  cause  of  difference 
until  1 774.  In  that  year  Dunmore  took  possession  of  Fort 
Pitt,  changed  the  name,  and  made  John  Connelly  Com 
mander  of  the  militia.  For  calling  the  militia  to  meet 
him  early  in  1774,  Connelly  was  arrested  by  St.  Clair, 
magistrate  of  Westmoreland  county.  What  followed  then 
until  ' '  the  shot  that  was  heard  around  the  world ' '  was 
fired  at  L,exington,  can  best  be  told  from  the  circular 
issued  by  the  delegates  of  the  two  Colonies  in  Congress,3 
urging  the  people  to  mutual  forbearance  : 

"  We  recommend  it  to  you  that  all  bodies  of  armed  men, 
kept  up  by  either  party,  be  dismissed ;  and  that  all  those  on 
either  side,  who  are  in  confinement  or  on  bail  for  taking"  part 
in  the  contest,  be  discharged." 

There  was  no  Colony  among  the  thirteen  that  had  so 
great  a  diversity  of  nationality  and  religion — elements  that 

1  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  1,  p.  279. 

2  Ibid,  p.  283. 

3  The  Olden  Time,  vol.  1,  p.  444. 


42        Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

go  far  to  determine  a  man's  attitude  on  any  question — as 
Pennsylvania.  The  population  of  all  the  others  was  quite 
homogenous,  and  it  was  therefore  comparatively  easy  to 
cement  it  in  favor  of  any  line  of  action.  Not  so  in  Penn 
sylvania.  There  were  three  political  parties  more  or  less 
defined,  in  the  Province,  in  1775  : *  the  friends  of  the  ex 
isting  Government,  composed  chiefly  of  the  adherents  of 
the  Proprietaries,  royalists  from  conscientious  opinion 
and  from  religious  scruples,  and  the  greater  portion  of 
the  Society  of  Friends  ;  the  Revolutionary  or  active-move 
ment  party  ;  and  a  third  class  of  men,  earnestly  devoted 
to  the  cause  of  the  Colonies,  but  more  or  less  anxious  for 
reconciliation.  The  first  and  third  were  greatly  in  the 
majority.  The  first  comprised  the  Quakers,  who,  with 
the  Proprietary  party,  at  that  time  controlled  the  Assem 
bly.  The  Germans,  from  a  sense  of  gratitude  to  Penn  for 
their  homes  and  liberties,  acted  with  the  Quakers.  The 
third  party  comprised  nearly  all  of  those  who  were  recog 
nized  as  the  political  leaders  of  the  day — Franklin,  Dick 
inson,  Reed,  Morris,  Mifflin,  McKean,  Clymer  and  others. 
The  second  class  were  the  Scotch-Irish,  but  they  were  far 
removed  from  the  seat  of  the  Government,  and  before  the 
declaration  of  independence  had  very  little  political  in 
fluence. 

The  Quakers  and  the  German  sects  were  opposed  to 
war  on  account  of  religious  scruples .  This  fact  had  caused 
a  bitter  feeling  against  them  on  the  part  of  the  Scotch- 
Irish.  The  latter  had  been  bred  to  war  before  they  came 
to  America,  and  had  no  patience  with  non-resistance,  but 
looked  upon  it  as  cowardice.  Upon  coming  to  Pennsyl 
vania,  they  soon  made  havoc  of  the  Quaker  peace  policy. 
Living  on  the  frontier,  they  got  into  endless  difficulties 


1  Reed's  Joseph  Reed,  vol.  1,  p.  151. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.        43 

with  the  Indians,  and,  when  war  broke  out,  they  became 
the  special  victims  of  the  tomahawk  and  the  scalping- 
knife.  The  Quakers  sought  to  make  peace  through 
presents,  treaties  and  missionaries.  The  Scotch-Irish 
protested  against  such  a  weak-kneed  policy,  and  became 
the  enemies  of  the  very  people  who  had  suffered  them  to 
settle  in  Pennsylvania.  Thus  there  came  about  a  mutual 
feeling  of  hatred  and  distrust  between  those  who  governed 
and  those  who  needed  the  support  of  the  Government 
most.  When  the  Revolutionary  movement  passed  from 
constitutional  opposition  against  British  taxation  to  actual 
war,  the  Quakers  and  the  German  non-resistants  assumed 
a  neutral  and  indifferent  position,  while  the  frontiersmen 
were  eager  for  the  fray.  The  very  fact  that  these  had  not 
affiliated  socially  or  politically  with  the  ruling  classes  of 
Philadelphia,  and  the  counties  immediately  around  the 
city,  left  them  independent.  They  were  not  bound  by 
any  personal  considerations  to  act  with  those  who  deter 
mined  the  policy  of  the  Province  from  1774-1776.  Three 
months  before  the  first  Continental  Congress  met,  the 
Scotch-Irish  and  German  borderers  of  Hanover,  York 
county,  resolved  among  other  things,  "  that  in  the  event 
of  Great  Britain  attempting  to  force  unjust  laws  upon  us 
by  the  strength  of  arms,  our  cause  we  leave  to  Heaven 
and  our  rifles."1  This  action  on  the  frontier  was  in 
strong  contrast  with  that  of  the  Quakers  and  German 
sects,  who  memorialized  the  Assembly  to  be  excused  from 
military  service  on  the  ground  that  the  charter  granted 
them  particular  immunity.2  Compare  it,  too,  with  that 
of  the  Assembly  at  Philadelphia,  whose  uncertain  course 
in  1774-1775  3  gave  rise  to  the  Provincial  Convention  of 


1  Pennsylvania  Associators  and  Militia,  vol.  1,  p.  271. 

2  Votes  of  the  Assembly,  vol.  6,  p.  634;  also,  Ibid,  p.  645. 

3  Reed's  Joseph  Reed,  vol.  1,  p.  162. 


44         Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

1776,  and  caused  its  own  death  on  the  26th  of  September. 
When  ' '  the  House  then  rose, ' '  the  sword  was  unsheathed  ; 
the  Hanoverian  resolution  was  put  into  effect  against  the 
British  ;  and  the  Scotch-Irish  Indian  policy  was  practiced 
on  the  frontier : 

' '  And  when  the  L,ord  thy  God  shall  deliver  them  be 
fore  thee,  thou  shalt  smite  them  and  utterly  destroy  them  ; 
thou  shalt  make  no  covenant  with  them,  nor  show  mercy 
unto  them." — Deuteronomy  vii  :  2. 

Nor  did  this  change  of  policy  in  reference  to  the  enemy 
on  the  front  and  the  enemy  on  the  rear  come  any  too  soon. 
The  doctrine  of  non-resistance  had  prevented  the  estab 
lishment  of  an  efficient  system  of  defense  in  Pennsylvania. 
Howe  and  the  Indians  both  threatened  invasion  in  the 
summer  of  1776  ;  yet  there  was  no  force  to  oppose  either, 
except  the  old  voluntary  militia  established  through  the 
efforts  of  Franklin  back  in  1744.  The  war  between  France 
and  England,  begun  in  that  year,  threatened  to  affect  the 
Western  frontier.  The  Delawares  had  just  been  peremp 
torily  ordered  from  the  Forks  of  the  Delaware,  and  the 
wrongs  of  the  walking  purchase  rankled  deep  in  their 
breasts.  Franklin  then  came  forward  with  the  famous 
pamphlet,  "Plain  Truth."  1  It  was  a  strong  plea  for 
military  defenses  based  on  the  homely  saying,  that  "  when 
the  steed  is  stolen,  you  shut  the  stable  door." 

The  first  effort  to  enroll  the  Quakers  in  a  militia  had 
been  made  by  Governor  Evans,2  but  he  was  too  impru 
dent  to  succeed.  Then  William  Penn,  Jr.,  in  his  instruc 
tions  to  Governor  Keith,3  suggested  a  militia  on  condi 
tion  of  exempting  the  Quakers.  Owing  to  the  Governor's 
popularity  with  the  Assembly,  he  received  permission  to 


1  Franklin's  Works,  vol.  3,  p.  4. 

2  Pennsylvania  Colony  and  Commonwealth,  p.  43. 

3  Colonial  Records,  vol.  3,  p.  64. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         45 

establish  one.  In  Governor  Thomas'  administration, 
when  the  Spanish  war  was  on,  the  question  again  came 
up.  The  Assembly  now  said  :  "  The  Quakers  do  not  (as 
the  world  is  circumstanced)  condemn  the  use  of  arms  in 
others,  yet  are  principled  against  it  themselves."  *  They 
gave  him  permission,  in  the  name  of  the  Proprietary,  who 
was  by  Penn's  charter2  captain-general,  to  organize  a  vol 
untary  militia,  without  the  aid  of  any  laws,  and  without 
consulting  the  Assembly.  He  recruited  700  men  under 
this  arrangement,  but  so  many  indentured  servants  en 
listed  that  the  Assembly  refused  to  vote  supplies  until 
these  should  be  returned.  This  offer  he  rejected,  and 
raised  funds  on  the  credit  of  the  British  Government. 
When,  five  years  later,  1744,  Franklin's  "  Plain  Truth  " 
created  a  strong  sentiment  in  favor  of  locking  the  stable 
in  due  time,  Governor  Thomas  proceeded  to  enlist  men 
from  the  combatant  portion  of  the  people,  and  asked  for 
no  assistance  from  the  Assembly.  Franklin  assisted  him, 
and  in  a  few  days  they  had  enrolled  10,000  volunteers. 
They  were  called  Associators,  from  the  fact  that  they  as 
sociated  for  defense  at  public  meetings  ;  and  the  name 
was  retained  by  the  militia  of  Pennsylvania  down  through 
the  Revolution.  After  the  defeat  of  Braddock,  Franklin 
succeeded,  November  25th,  1755,  in  getting  the  Assembly 
to  pass  an  act  forming  and  disciplining  a  voluntary 
militia.3  It  was  passed  without  much  difficulty,  because 
care  had  been  taken  to  leave  the  Quakers  and  others  con 
scientiously  opposed  to  war  at  liberty.  The  Associators 
were  paid  out  of  the  Provincial  treasury,  and  were  sub 
ject  to  the  orders  of  the  Governor.  There  was  another 
class  of  soldiery  in  different  parts  of  the  Province,  who, 

1  Votes  of  the  Assembly,  vol.  3,  p.  362. 

2  Section  16. 

3  Franklin's  Works,  vol.  3,  p.  78. 


46        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

"without  call  or  authority  from  the  Government,  and 
without  due  order  and  direction  among  themselves,"  as 
sembled  ' '  on  any  occasional  alarm,  whether  true  or  false, ' ' 
for  the  defense  of  their  homes  and  families  against  the 
savages.1  They  were  the  Rangers,  and  were  usually 
mounted.  They  were  paid,  if  at  all,  from  local  funds  or 
by  appropriations  made  after  their  service  had  been  ren 
dered.  Their  original  duty  was  to  range  the  woods  for 
stray  horses.2  Such  in  general  was  the  nature  of  the  or 
ganization  of  the  militia,  not  as  existing  in  1775,  but  as 
known  in  the  history  of  the  Province. 

Active  service  among  the  Associators  was  revived  by 
the  following  brief  resolution  of  the  Committee  of  Cor 
respondence,  passed  in  Philadelphia  April  25th,  the  day 
following  the  arrival  of  the  news  from  Lexington , 3  namely , 
to  ' '  associate  together,  to  defend  with  arms  their  property , 
liberty  and  lives  against  all  attempts  to  deprive  them  of 
it. ' '  This  committee,  through  its  branches  in  the  various 
counties,  had  already,  in  1774,  passed  resolutions  all  over 
the  Province,  pledging  the  inhabitants  to  support  the  acts 
of  the  Continental  Congress  for  a  redress  of  American 
grievances.4  When  peaceful  measures  were  no  longer 
possible,  as  evidenced  April  igth,  the  tone  of  the  resolu 
tions  changed.5  They  "  recommended  to  the  inhabit 
ants,"  of  Lancaster  county,  for  instance,  "  immediately 
to  associate  and  provide  themselves  with  arms  and  am 
munition,  and  learn  the  art  of  military  discipline  to  de 
fend  their  just  rights  and  privileges.6 

On  May  26th,  Congress  resolved  that  the  Colonies  be 


1  Preamble  Militia  Act  of  1755. 

2  Votes  of  the  Assembly,  May  9th,  1724. 

3  Westcott's  Philadelphia,  vol.  1,  p.  295. 

4  Pennsylvania  Associators  and  Militia,1775-1783. 

5  Ibid. 

6  Ibid,  vol.  1,  p.  292. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         47 

put  in  a  state  of  defense. *  A  more  compact  and  energetic 
body  was  now  required  in  Pennsylvania,  and  one  that 
had  more  authority  than  the  Committee  of  Correspond 
ence.  Accordingly,  the  Assembly,  on  June  3oth,  created 
the  Council  of  Safety,  which  was  delegated  with  power 
to  call  into  actual  service ' '  any  number  of  the  officers  and 
private  men  of  the  association  within  this  Colony."  On 
the  3rd  of  August  it  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare 
rules  and  regulations  in  conformity  to  those  adopted  by 
Congress  July  i8th.2  All  able-bodied  men  between  16 
and  50  were  to  form  themselves  into  regular  companies 
of  militia,  83  rank  and  file.  The  companies  were  to  be 
formed  into  regiments  or  battalions,  and  all  officers  above 
the  rank  of  captain  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  Assem 
blies,  or  their  authorized  committees.  People  with  reli 
gious  scruples  were  ' '  to  contribute  liberally  in  this  time 
of  unusual  calamity,  to  the  relief  of  their  distressed  breth 
ren."  One-fourth  of  the  militia  of  each  Colony  were  to 
serve  as  minute  men ,  always  ready  for  special  call  to  ser 
vice.  Rules  and  regulations  were  published  and  sent  to 
the  county  committees  for  the  signatures  of  the  Associa- 
tors.  But  many  of  them  refused  to  sign  because  Congress 
had  excused  persons  with  scruples  against  war.3  After 
some  hesitancy  and  delay,  the  Assembly,  November  yth,4 
resolved  that  ' '  all  male  white  persons  between  the  age  of 
1 6  and  50,  capable  of  bearing  arms,  who  do  not  associate 
for  the  defense  of  the  Province,  ought  to  pay  an  equiva 
lent  for  the  time  spent  by  the  Associators  in  acquiring 
discipline ;  ministers  of  the  Gospel  of  all  denominations 
and  servants  purchased  bonafidefor  valuable  consideration 


1  Journal  of  Congress,  vol.  1,  p.  99. 

2  Journal  of  Congress,  vol.  1. 

3  Colonial  Records,  vol.  10,  p.  349. 

4  Votes  of  the  Assembly,  vol.  6,  p.  646. 


48        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

only  excepted."  The  county  commissioners  were  em 
powered  to  fine  the  non-Associators  two  pounds  and  ten 
shillings  annually,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  tax.  This 
provision  gave  infinite  trouble.  The  fines  were  not  paid 
without  force  in  many  instances.1  The  arms  of  non-As 
sociators  were  to  be  surrendered  for  the  use  of  the  Asso- 
ciators,  and  this,  too,  resulted  in  serious  conditions.2 

The  military  association  of  1775-1776  having  been 
hastily  formed ,  and  not  enacted  into  law,  but  merely  called 
into  existence  by  the  Committee  of  Correspondence,  and 
afterwards  approved  by  resolves  of  the  Assembly,  a  move 
ment  was  made  after  the  State  had  been  formed  to  pass 
a  militia  law.  Accordingly,  on  March  17,  1777,  the  As 
sembly,  realizing  that  "the  Freedom  handed  down  by 
our  virtuous  Ancestors  may  be  in  danger  of  being  wrested 
from  us  unless  the  strongest  and  most  immediate  Efforts 
aremade  for  its  support,"  passed  an  act  to  regulate  the 
militia.3  It  provided  for  a  Lieutenant  of  the  militia  and  a 
number  of  Sub-Lieutenants  not  exceeding  five  for  each 
county,  to  be  appointed  by  the  President  or  Vice-Presi- 
dent  of  the  Executive  Council.  They  were  to  order  the 
constables  within  their  counties  to  make  a  return  of  every 
male  white  person  between  the  age  of  18  and  53,  and  ca 
pable  of  bearing  arms,  excepting  "delegates  in  Congress, 
members  of  the  Executive  Council,  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  masters  and  faculty  of  colleges,  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  and  servants  purchased  bonafide  and  for  a  valua 
ble  consideration."  Later,  members  of  the  Assembly 
were  excepted,  too.4  They  were  then  to  divide  each 
county  into  districts,  each  to  contain  not  less  than  440  nor 


1  Pennsylvania  Associators,  vol.  1,  p.  546. 

2  Ibid,  vol.  2,  p.  601. 

3  Law  Book,  vol.  1,  p.  97. 

4  Law  Book,  vol.  1,  p.  164. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         49 

more  than  680  privates  (1,000  in  xySo),1  and  to  sub-di 
vide  the  districts  into  eight  parts,  as  nearly  equal  as  pos 
sible.  This  division  being  made,  the  men  enrolled  for 
militia  duty  in  each  district  were  to  be  called  together  by 
the  Lieutenants  to  elect  by  ballot  three  field  or  battalion 
officers — Colonel,  Lieutenant  Colonel  and  Major.  These 
were  to  be  freeholders,  but  in  June  following  2  an  act  was 
passed  by  which  they  were  to  be  selected  "  on  the  Scale 
of  their  Merits  rather  than  of  their  Estates."  The  in 
habitants  of  the  sub-districts  were  likewise  to  meet  and 
elect  by  ballot  company  officers — one  captain,  two  lieu 
tenants,  one  ensign  and  two  courtmartial  men.  All  these 
were  to  be  commissioned  by  the  Executive  Council  of  the 
State.  The  Lieutenants  were  required  to  cause  the  sev 
eral  companies  of  militia  in  their  respective  precincts  to 
be  divided  by  lot  into  eight  parts,  to  be  called  classes,  as 
nearly  equal  as  possible,  and  numbered  from  one  to  eight. 
The  whole  militia  was  subject  to  be  exercised  in  compa 
nies  ten  times  in  a  year ;  and  in  battalions,  twice  a  year. 
In  case  of  absence  from  drill,  except  on  account  of  sick 
ness  or  other  accident,  fines  were  collected  after  the  man 
ner  of  any  other  debt. 

In  case  of  rebellion  or  invasion  in  the  State,  or  in  case 
Congress  required  assistance  in  the  State  or  outside,  the 
Executive  Council  could  call  into  actual  service  such  part 
of  the  militia  as  seemed  necessary.  The  first  draft  was 
to  be  composed  of  the  class  number  one  of  each  com 
pany  ;  and  if  that  number  was  not  sufficient,  class  num 
ber  two  was  to  be  drawn  ;  and  so  on  by  classes  from  time 
to  time  as  occasion  might  require.  Each  class  was  liable 
to  serve  two  months  at  a  time,  then  to  be  relieved  by  the 


1  Law  Book,  vol.  1,  p.  375. 

2  Ibid,  p.  133. 


50        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

class  next  in  numerical  order,  the  relief  to  arrive  two  days 
before  the  expiration  of  the  two  months.  In  case  of 
grave  necessity,  the  Executive  Council  could  call  out 
one-half  of  any  battalion  or  one-half  of  any  company 
without  respect  to  the  rule,  unless  an  Indian  invasion  in 
any  county  made  their  presence  at  home  a  necessity.1 
In  1779,  the  Executive  Council  was  empowered  to  call 
out  any  part  of  the  militia  without  regard  to  rotation  or 
location.2  The  pay  and  rations  for  actual  service  was 
the  same  as  that  of  the  Continental  troops,  to  be  rated  at 
twenty  miles  a  day  until  the  return  home.  In  case  a  man 
could  not  serve  or  get  a  substitute,  he  was  to  pay  a  fine — 
equal  to  the  average  cost  of  substitutes,  as  determined 
after  their  return.  This  was  modified3  so  as  to  require 
the  payment  of  a  definite  amount  at  once — forty  pounds 
—unless  a  substitute  was  produced  of  and  belonging  to 
the  family  of  the  man  who  would  or  could  not  march. 
Serving  as  a  substitute  did  not  excuse  the  substitute  from 
serving  in  his  own  turn.  Almoners — one  in  each  sub- 
district — were  appointed  to  look  after  and  provide  for  the 
needs  of  poor  families  while  the  fathers  were  on  their  own 
turn  of  service.4  Subjoined  to  the  act  of  organization 
were  twenty-eight  wholesome  rules  and  regulations,  by 
which  the  militia  were  to  be  governed. 

On  the  2oth  of  December  of  the  same  year,^  1779,  after 
the  first  serious  inroads  of  the  savages  on  the  Western 
frontier,  an  act  was  passed  to  empower  certain  commis 
sioners,  appointed  by  Congress,  to  take  vigorous  measures 
for  the  defense  of  the  terror-stricken  inhabitants  in  that 
quarter.  The  Lieutenants  and  the  sub-Lieutenants  of 


1  Law  Book,  vol.  1,  p.  163. 

2  Ibid,  p.  280. 

3  Ibid,  p.  163. 

4  Ibid,  p.  134. 

5  Ibid,  p.  149. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         51 

Bedford  and  Westmoreland  counties  were  empowered  and 
enjoined,  if  applied  to  by  the  commissioners,  "  to  take 
the  most  speedy  and  effectual  measures  for  raising  and 
embodying,  whether  of  classes  or  otherwise,  such  parts 
of  the  militia  of  their  counties  as  shall  from  time  to  time 
be  deemed  necessary."  They  were  to  serve  for  two 
months  or  longer,  and  not  again  do  duty  for  two  succeed 
ing  tours,  or  the  space  of  time  required  for  any  expedition 
upon  which  they  might  go. 

In  March,  1780,  the  Lieutenants  of  the  several  coun 
ties  were  authorized  to  raise  a  corps  of  light-horse,  six 
privates  for  each  battalion  of  infantry.1  On  the  26th  of 
May  following,  still  another  class  of  military  was  organ 
ized,  the  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.2  Frequent  calls  of 
the  militia  had  proved  very  inconvenient,  especially  in 
seed  time  and  harvest.  As  a  remedy,  each  and  every 
company  of  militia  in  the  State  was  to  provide  or  hire 
two  able-bodied  men,  not  less  than  18  or  more  than  45, 
to  be  formed  into  a  company  for  the  defense  of  the  State. 
It  was  organized  in  June,  and  was  to  serve  till  January 
i5th,  1781,  the  season  of  the  year  when  Indian  incursions 
were  most  frequent. 

As  the  first  movement  for  ' '  obstructing  a  communi 
cation  between  the  Southern  and  Northern  Goverments  ' ' 
contemplated  the  raising  of  Tories  and  Indians,  the  de 
molishing  of  Fort  Pitt  and  an  attack  of  the  frontier  set 
tlements  in  Western  Pennsylvania,3  so  the  first  alarm  of 
an  Indian  war  came  from  that  quarter.4  It  was  sounded 
at  Pittsburg  May  i6th,  1775,  at  a  meeting  of  the  inhab 
itants  on  the  frontier  held  to  approve  of  New  England's 

1  Law  Book,  vol.  1,  p.  376. 

2  Ibid,  p.  390. 

3  Connelly  to  Gage,  American  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  3,  p,  1661. 

4  Augusta  County  (Virginia)  Committee  Minutes,  The  Olden  Time,  vol. 
1,  p.  273. 


52        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

opposition  to  the  "  invaders  of  American  rights  and  privi 
leges."  Dunmore  and  Connelly  could  not  conceal  their 
plot  from  those  vigilant  patriots,  who  realized  even  then 
that  border  warfare  was  to  be  inaugurated  to  engage  their 
attention,  and  divert  it  from  that  interesting  object  of 
liberty  and  freedom.  They  accordingly  resolved  to  cul 
tivate  friendship  with  the  Indians,  threatened  condign 
punishment  in  case  any  person  should  take  the  life  of  a 
friendly  Indian,  and  sent  a  petition  to  Congress  intimat 
ing  "  fears  of  a  rupture  with  the  Indians  on  account  of 
Lord  Dunmore  *s  conduct."  *  At  the  same  time  they  or 
ganized  independent  companies,  gathered  up  such  arms 
and  ammunition  as  were  not  employed  in  actual  service, 
and  wrote  to  the  Council  of  Safety  for  powder  and  lead.2 
The  frontiersmen  assembled  at  Fort  Pitt  in  1775,  also  saw 
through  the  deep  designs  of  the  Quebec  act,  passed  by 
the  British  Parliament  the  year  before.  This  act  extended 
the  boundaries  of  Canada  southward  to  the  Ohio  river, 
in  defiance  of  the  territorial  claims  of  Massachusetts,  Con 
necticut,  New  York  and  Virginia.  The  territory  was  to 
be  governed  by  a  vice-roy  with  despotic  powers  ;  and  such 
people  as  should  come  to  live  there  were  to  have  neither 
popular  meetings,  nor  habeas  corpus,  nor  freedom  of  the 
press.3  "This,  "said  Lord  Thurlow,  "is  the  only  sort 
of  constitution  fit  for  a  colony."  To  be  exposed  to  such 
a  country  was  fraught  with  great  danger  to  Western  Penn 
sylvania.  The  frontiersmen  realized  this,  and  asked  for 
support  to  stand  ' '  against  the  inroads  of  the  savages  and 
the  militia  "  from  the  adjoining  "  Indian  country  and  the 
Province  of  Quebec." 

For  very  natural  reasons,  the  settlements  at  Wyoming 

1  Journal  of  Congress,  TO!.  1,  p.  105. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  4,  p.  647. 

3  Cobbett's  Parliamentary  History,  vol.  17,  p.  1361. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.          53 

were  also  harrassed  with  fears  of  Indian  outbreaks  in 
1775.  The  quarrels  between  the  Yankees  and  the  Penna- 
mites  made  the  frontier  on  the  Susquehanna  a  vulnerable 
point.  On  the  Western  frontier  we  found  the  inhabitants 
of  Westmoreland  county  arrayed  against  those  of  the  dis 
trict  of  West  Augusta,  and  the  Indians  ready  to  pounce 
down  upon  them  both.  On  the  Northern  frontier,  the 
savages  were  ready  to  take  advantage  of  the  quarrels  be 
tween  the  counties  of  Northampton  and  Northumberland 
and  the  township  of  Westmoreland .  The  New  Knglanders 
were  situated  on  the  very  borders  of  the  Indian  towns, 
which  spotted  the  upper  branches  of  the  Susquehanna, 
several  of  them  being  within  the  town  of  Westmoreland. 
The  conduct  of  the  Indians  gave  strong  indications  of 
hostility  at  the  time  of  Colonel  Plunkett's  expedition.1 
The  Connecticut  men  blamed  the  Pennsylvanians  for  in 
tercepting  Indian  supplies  transported*  up  the  Susque 
hanna,  and  thereby  inviting  an  attack  upon  the  settle 
ment.  Furthermore,  Wyoming  was  an  outpost  whose 
isolation  was  complete.  The  distance  to  the  nearest  set 
tlement  on  the  Delaware  or  the  Susquehanna  was  seventy 
miles.  When,  therefore,  Connecticut  prohibited  any 
further  emigration  to  Wyoming  without  special  license 
from  the  General  Assembly, 2  it  proved  to  be  a  great  hard 
ship  ;  for  it  meant  that  those  already  there  would  alone 
have  to  carry  out  the  patriotic  resolves  of  August  8th, 
I775,3  and  meet  the  attacks  of  the  savages  in  the  course 
of  the  war. 

The  year  1775  had  brought  nothing  more  serious  to 
the  frontier  than  rumors  and  suspicions  of  Indian  attacks. 
The  plans  of  Dunmore  and  Connelly  had  come  to  grief, 

1  American  Archives,  Series  4,  vol.  3,  p.  1964. 

2  Miner's  History  of  Wyoming,  p.  177. 

3  Ibid,  p.  165. 


54        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

and  the  Colonies  still  presented  an  unbroken  front  to  the 
British,  from  Georgia  to  New  Hampshire.  In  1776,  the 
plan  of  the  English  armies  was  to  conquer  the  Hudson 
river,  and  thus  cut  the  Colonies  in  two.  General  Howe 
was  to  capture  the  city  of  New  York,  while  General 
Carleton  was  to  descend  from  Canada,  recapture  Ticon- 
deroga,  and  take  possession  of  the  upper  Hudson  and  the 
Mohawk.  To  aid  in  this  campaign,  the  Indians  were 
employed  as  regular  troops  in  the  British  army.  Guy 
Johnson  and  Brandt  both  had  been  in  England  in  the  win 
ter  of  1 775- 1 7 76,  and  made  the  final  arrangements  for  their 
employment.  Though  the  Americans  had  succeeded,  in 
1775,  in  getting  promises  of  neutrality,  all  hopes  of  con 
tinuing  it  were  now  dispelled  ;  for  most  of  the  Indians 
that  had  not  gone  with  Guy  Johnson  and  Brandt  to  Canada 
to  join  the  British  army,  gave  numerous  evidences  of  hos 
tility  to  the  frontier  settlements. 

The  minutes  of  the  Council  of  Safety  show  that  as 
early  as  January  8th,  I776,1  Colonel  St.  Clairand  Richard 
Butler  petitioned  for  the  public  powder  then  in  West 
moreland  county  to  remain  there  as  the  property  of  the 
Province,  but  not  to  be  used  except  in  the  defense  of  the 
county.  It  is  evident  that  the  plottings  of  Dr.  Connelly, 
which  had  just  fully  come  to  light,  gave  great  uneasiness 
to  the  Western  frontier.  Of  all  the  men  in  Western  Penn 
sylvania  at  that  time,  St.  Clair  and  Butler  were  best  in 
formed  as  to  the  state  of  that  country.  Arthur  St.  Clair 
came  to  America  from  Scotland  in  1758,  as  an  ensign  in 
the  British  army.  He  served  under  Wolfe  at  Quebec. 
He  married  in  Boston,  and  after  resigning  the  lieuten 
ancy,  to  which  he  had  been  promoted,  came  to  Western 
Pennsylvania  to  take  up  some  land  granted  to  him  by 


1  Colonial  Records,  vol.  10  p.  449. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.  55 

General  Gage. J  Here  he  became  a  trusted  military  officer 
under  the  British,  and  a  civil  magistrate  under  the  Penns. 
In  the  latter  capacity  he  had  entire  control  of  local  affairs 
in  Westmoreland  county,  and  through  his  zeal  for  Penn 
sylvania  in  the  dispute  with  Virginia,  incurred  the  ill-will 
of  Lord  Dunmore  and  Dr.  Connelly.  When  the  Revolu 
tion  commenced,  he  sided  at  once  with  the  Colonies.  He 
was  the  leader  of  the  patriots  at  home,  and  kept  those  in 
Philadelphia  informed  of  the  state  of  the  frontier  about 
Fort  Pitt.  Soon  after  the  writing  of  the  petition  just  al 
luded  to,  he  was  commissioned  colonel  in  the  Continental 
service.  He  rose  rapidly,  and  became  a  major  general. 
After  the  Revolution,  he  served  his  State  in  the  Council 
of  Censors  and  in  the  Congress,  being  President  of  the 
latter  body  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  Ordinance  of 
1787.  Having  taken  an  active  interest  in  establishing 
the  Northwest  Territory,  he  was  made  its  first  Governor, 
thus  rounding  out  most  fitly  his  career  as  a  frontiersman . 
Richard  Butler  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  came  with 
his  father  to  Lancaster  county  in  1748,  and  shortly  after 
wards  to  the  sunset  side  of  the  Alleghenies.  About  1770, 
he  and  his  brother  settled  at  Fort  Pitt,  and  entered  into 
partnership  as  Indian  traders.  In  the  troubles  with  Vir 
ginia,  Butler  espoused  the  cause  of  Pennsylvania.  When 
the  Middle  Department  of  Indian  Affairs  was  created  by 
Congress,  he  was  one  of  the  agents  of  the  commissioners 
— a  position  for  which  he  was  well  fitted.  He  served 
with  great  usefulness  for  more  than  a  year  in  this  position. 
On  July  20th,  1776,  he  was  elected  by  Congress  major  of 
the  battalion  ordered  to  be  raised  for  the  defense  of  the 
Western  frontiers.  Major  Butler  soon  afterwards  became 
lieutenant  colonel  in  Daniel  Morgan's  famous  rifle  corps, 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  10,  p.  483. 


56        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

which  in  no  small  degree  he  helped  to  make  the  finest 
marksmen  in  the  world,  as  General  Burgoyne  pronounced 
them  to  be  after  the  battle  of  Stillwater.  After  the  Revo 
lution,  Butler  again  entered  the  Indian  service  as  super 
intendent  of  the  Northern  District.  His  career  ended 
while  he  was  with  St.  Clair  in  his  expedition  against  the 
Indians  in  1791.  Wounded  several  times  in  that  disas 
trous  battle  on  the  banks  of  the  Wabash,  he  was  finally 
tomahawked  by  an  Indian,  but,  before  he  died,  put  a  bul 
let  through  the  breast  of  his  savage  assailant. 

The  scarcity  of  powder,  hinted  at  by  St.  Clair  and 
Butler,  as  well  as  of  lead,  was  a  serious  matter  on  the 
frontier.  Nine  days  after  their  petition,  the  Council  of 
Safety  inserted  the  following  advertisement  in  the  news 
papers  of  Philadelphia :  1 

"  Such  persons  as  are  willing  to  erect  powder  mills  in  this 
Province,  within  fifty  miles'  distance  of  this  city,  are  desired 
to  apply  to  the  Committee  of  Safety,  who  will  lend  them  money 
on  security  if  required  for  that  purpose,  and  give  them  other 
encouragement." 

A  liberal  response  was  made  to  this  advertisement  from 
Philadelphia,  Bucks,  Chester  and  other  counties  around, 
and  a  committee  was  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  erect 
ing  powder  mills.2  There  was  a  constant  demand  from 
the  frontier  for  powder,  and  jealousies  arose  when  one 
county  was  ordered  to  deliver  some  of  its  stores  to  another. 
When  the  Committee  of  York  county  was  ordered  to  ship 
some  to  Northampton  and  Northumberland  for  the  attack 
on  Wyoming,  they  said  it  was  "  a  disgrace  to  the  sons  of 
America  !  Tell  it  not  in  Gath  ! ' '  that  powder  and  lead 
originally  destined  for  the  defense  of  the  whole  United 
Colonies,  should  be  employed  in  an  unhappy  affair  be- 


1  Colonial  Records,  vol.  10,  p.  455. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  4,  p.  709 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.        57 

t ween  two  of  them .  Congress  needed  powder  at  the  front , 
the  Province  needed  it  for  practice  in  the  militia,  and  the 
frontier  needed  it  in  the  preparation  for  defense.  It  was 
so  scarce  later  on,  that  the  morning  and  evening  guns  on 
the  warships  of  the  Delaware  had  to  be  forbidden.  Cau 
tions  against  waste  were  frequently  thrown  out  by  the 
Council  of  Safety.  The  mills  were  in  constant  danger, 
too,  of  being  blown  up  by  Tories,  and  had  to  be  guarded 
by  the  militia.  One  of  them  did  explode,  and  evidence 
of  disloyal  threats  was  brought  out  in  the  investigation. 

Much  of  the  difficulty  in  the  supply  of  powder  was  due 
to  a  lack  of  knowledge  in  the  making  of  saltpetre.1  Its 
manufacture  in  Philadelphia,  in  1775,  was  so  unsuccess 
ful  that  one  Baltzer  Monday,  evidently  a  German,  was 
sent  down  from  York  Town  to  ' '  instruct  any  who  may 
chuse  to  learn."  York  Town  had  also  sent  a  saltpetre 
maker  to  Maryland  ;  and  Virginia  had  then  not  made 
twenty  tons  all  told.  ' '  'Tis  a  shame  for  America, ' '  writes 
the  York  County  Committee  to  the  Council  of  Safety, 
1 '  when  we  have  so  many  people  who  have  wrought  many 
years  at  making  saltpetre  in  Germany,  and  understand  it 
as  well  as  any  of  our  old  women  making  soap,  that  so 
much  has  been  said  and  so  little  done  in  an  article  so 
essential  to  the  safety  of  America  ;  it  is  true,  they  are  but 
mechanics,  and  don't  understand  theory,  but  let  them 
make  a  sufficiency  for  our  present  wants,  and  let  the  theo 
rists  improve  and  amend  their  defects  at  leisure." 

The  scarcity  of  lead  was  even  greater  than  that  of  gun 
powder  ;  for  it  was  recommended  in  May,  1776,  by  the 
Council  of  Safety,2  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia 
send  in  all  such  lead  as  they  might  have  in  use  in  their 
families  and  about  their  houses,  such  as  draught  weights 

1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  4,  p.  668. 

2  Colonial  Records,  vol.  10,  p.  558. 


58         Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania . 

and  window  weights,  also  clock  weights,  for  which  iron 
weights  could  be  procured  to  supply  their  private  con 
venience.  The  liberal  price  of  six  pence  per  pound  was 
allowed.  Two  years  later  the  attention  of  the  Supreme 
Kxecutive  Council  was  called  to  the  existence  of  lead  in 
Sinking  Valley,1  then  in  Bedford  county,  now  in  Blair. 
Some  few  persons  had  found  their  way  to  the  mines,  raised 
small  quantities  of  ore  and  smelted  it.  The  Council,  act 
ing  on  what  are  now  termed  ' '  populistic  "  principles, 
seized  the  mines  and  operated  them  for  the  State.  Gen 
eral  Daniel  Roberdeau,  then  a  member  of  Congress  from 
Philadelphia,  but  before  that  a  brigadier  general  in  the 
militia,  was  made  superintendent  of  the  mining  operations. 
He  received  leave  of  absence  from  Congress  in  order  to 
attend  to  this  work.  Fears  of  Indian  attacks  made  it  nec 
essary  to  erect  a  stockade  fort,  and  garrison  it  with  the 
militia.  Roberdeau  stayed  at  the  mines  only  a  short  time, 
leaving  the  direction  of  affairs  in  the  hands  of  experienced 
miners.  Lead  was  taken  out  for  about  a  year  ;  but  how 
much  is  not  known.  The  undertaking  was  not  profita 
ble.  It  proved  a  moth  to  the  General's  circulating  cash, 
and  obliged  him  to  make  free  with  a  friend  in  borrowing. 
He  had  to  ask  an  enormous  price  for  the  lead  on  account 
of  the  depreciation  of  Continental  money,  and  was  handi 
capped  in  the  working  of  the  mine  by  want  of  protection 
against  the  Indians. 

After  the  application  of  St.  Clair  and  Butler  for  pow 
der  and  lead,  as  summer  drew  nearer,  the  people  on  the 
Western  frontier  became  more  anxious.  Indian  attacks 
were  most  frequent  when  the  settlers  were  busy  in  the 
fields,  especially  in  harvest  time.  In  March,  Bedford  and 
Cumberland  counties  were  requested  by  the  Council  of 


1  History  of  Juniata  Valley,  pp.  231-240. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.        59 

Safety,  "in  case  the  inhabitants  of  Westmoreland  were 
attacked  by  an  enemy,  to  spare  them  the  necessary  pow 
der  belonging  to  the  public  for  their  defense. "  *  In  April 
Kiashuta  appeared  before  Richard  Butler  (See  page  27), 
with  an  invitation  to  come  to  Niagara  ;  and  McKee,  the 
suspect,  had  received  a  request  to  invite  all  the  Indians 
he  might  see  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the  British  agent. 
Although  the  old  Seneca  chief  was  warned  ' '  to  hearken 
to  no  speeches  that  tend  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  coun 
try,"  his  return  from  Niagara  was  awaited  with  anxiety. 
Kiashuta  was  a  distinguished  character  among  the  Six 
Nations  from  the  time  of  Washington's  first  visit  to  the 
Ohio,  whom  he  accompanied  from  Logstown  to  L,e  Boeuf. 
He  survived  all  the  troubles  of  the  French  war,  of  Pon- 
tiac's  war — in  which  his  part  was  so  prominent  that  it 
was  sometimes  called  Kiashuta 's  war — and  of  the  Revo 
lution.  He  died  near  Pittsburg,  and  left  his  name  to  the 
beautiful  plain  on  the  Allegheny  river,  where  his  remains 
now  rest.2  Two  days  after  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence,  Kiashuta  was  back,  and  attended  a  meeting  of  the 
Congressional  Committee  for  the  Middle  Department  of 
Indian  Affairs.  He  produced  a  belt  of  wampum  from  the 
Six  Nations  to  the  Delawares,  Shawanese,  Wyandots  and 
other  western  Indians,  informing  them  that  the  Six  Na 
tions  would  take  no  part  in  the  war,  and  desiring  them 
to  do  the  same.  He  had  authority  to  say  that  "  the  Six 
Nations  would  make  it  their  business  to  prevent  either  an 
American  or  an  English  army  passing  through  their 
country."3  As  the  neighboring  tribes  were  not  repre 
sented,  another  meeting  was  held  near  Fort  Pitt  in  Octo 
ber,  when  these,  too,  offered  assurances  of  friendship.  But 


1  Colonial  Records,  vol.  10,  p.  525. 

2  Craijr's  History  of  Pittsburg,  p.  157. 

3  The  Olden  Time,  vol.  2,  p.  112. 


60        Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

British  influence  from  Detroit  had  to  be  combatted,  and 
matters  were  discouraging  at  times.  Shortly  after  the 
conference  with  Kiashuta,  100  men,  raised  in  Westmore 
land,  were  engaged  for  service  until  September  i5th.  The 
danger  became  so  threatening,  that  in  September  Con 
gress  J  issued  an  order  assembling  all  the  militia  that  could 
be  spared  for  the  defense  of  Fort  Pitt.  Powder  and  lead, 
together  with  10,000  flints,  were  forwarded  to  George 
Morgan,  the  Indian  agent,  who  succeeded  Colonel  Butler. 
The  militia  in  Cumberland  county,  ready  to  march  to  the 
assistance  of  Washington  in  New  Jersey,  were  held  for 
the  defense  of  the  frontiers  until  further  orders.  How 
ever,  Mr.  Morgan  wrote  to  John  Hancock,  November 
8th,  "  I  have  the  happiness  to  inform  you  that  the  cloud 
which  threatened  to  break  over  us  is  likely  to  disperse." 
In  this  he  was  not  mistaken  ;  for,  in  connection  with  100 
militia  under  Major  John  Neville,  Morgan  was  enabled  to 
maintain  comparative  peace  during  the  winter  of  1776- 
1777  at  and  around  Fort  Pitt. 

Morgan  and  Neville  were  two  valuable  men  to  Western 
Pennsylvania.  The  former  was  a  resident  of  Fort  Pitt  at 
the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  war,  having  erected 
the  first  house  with  a  shingle  roof  in  the  place.2  Mor- 
ganza  marks  the  site  of  an  estate  which  he  and  his  brother 
bought  later.  At  the  time  of  his  appointment  to  the  In 
dian  agency,  he  lived  on  a  farm  near  Princeton,  New 
Jersey.  At  Pittsburg  he  was  kept  in  hot  water  all  the 
time.  That  he  discharged  his  duties  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  Indians  was  shown  in  1779,  when  the  chiefs  of  the 
Delawares  sought  to  confer  upon  him  the  rich  and  fertile 
Sewickley  "  bottom,"  3  in  appreciation  of  his  services  in 


1  Journal  of  Congress,  vol.  2,  p.  350. 

2  History  of  Allegheny  County,  p.  444. 

3  Ibid,  Part  2nd,  p.  97. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         61 

their  behalf  while  agent  at  Fort  Pitt.  Though  he  could 
not  accept  the  offer,  it  must  have  been  gratifying  to  him  ; 
for  he  had  just  been  acquitted  of  a  charge  of  mismanage 
ment  and  disloyalty.  L,ater,  in  1780,  he  again  was  made 
the  target  of  criticism,  and  was  removed  from  his  posi 
tion.1  Colonel  Brodhead,  who  was  then  in  command  at 
Pittsburg,  expressed  the  desire  to  the  Executive  Council 
that  a  man  with  not  so  many  farms  and  other  interests 
might  succeed  him.  Farming  was  Colonel  Morgan's  de 
light  ;  for  after  the  war  he  was  again  in  New  Jersey,  the 
foremost  farmer  in  America,2  his  broad  fields  being  the 
admiration  of  travelers,  and  his  products  winning  the 
prizes  of  agricultural  societies.3  When  Aaron  Burr  was 
on  his  expedition  to  Louisiana,  he  stopped  with  the  Colonel 
at  Morganza,  and  tried  to  persuade  him  to  join.  Both  he 
and  two  of  his  sons  attended  Burr's  trial  at  Richmond  as 
witnesses. 

John  Neville  was  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  boys  kid 
naped  in  England,  and  brought  to  Virginia,  in  the  early 
history  of  that  Colony.  He  was  in  Braddock's  army,  and 
thus  learned  to  know  Western  Pennsylvania.  Before 
1774,  he  had  made  large  purchases  of  land  on  Chartier's 
Creek,  and  when  the  Revolution  began  he  became  a  trusted 
patriot.  The  Virginia  Provincial  Convention  ordered 
him,  in  August,  1775,  to  march  with  a  company  of  100 
men  and  take  possession  of  Fort  Pitt.  The  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania  delegates  in  Congress  had  recommended 
that  "all  bodies  of  armed  men  in  pay  of  either  party 
should  be  discharged."  As  Pennsylvania  had  no  armed 
men  at  Fort  Pitt,  the  arrival  of  Captain  Neville  was  not 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  12,  p.  249. 

2  Pennsylvania  Hist.  Mag.,  vol.  12,  p.  102. 

3  Ibid,  vol.  16,  p.  171. 


62         Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

welcome  to  St.  Clair,1  especially  since  it  was  contrary  to 
what  had  been  recommended.  But  without  regard  to  the 
motives  of  Virginia,  Neville's  militia  was  needed  at  Fort 
Pitt  to  counteract  the  scheme  of  Connelly,  and  insure  the 
safety  of  the  frontier  inhabitants,  whether  Virginians  or 
Pennsylvanians.  That  he  acted  with  prudence  is  proved 
by  the  fact  that  none  of  the  evils  predicted  by  St.  Clair, 
in  his  letter  to  Governor  Penn,  occurred.  Neville  re 
tained  the  command  of  Fort  Pitt  until  the  appointment  of 
General  Mclntosh  by  Congress,  in  1778.  He  then  served 
with  much  ability  at  the  front,  especially  distinguishing 
himself  in  the  Southern  campaigns.  At  the  close  of  the 
war,  he  returned  to  his  estates  in  Allegheny  county,  and 
in  1791  was  made  inspector  of  internal  revenue.  In  this 
position  he  bore  a  prominent  part  in  the  famous  ( '  Whiskey 
Rebellion,"  performing  his  duties  loyally  to  the  Federal 
Government,  at  the  expense  of  his  property  and  the  peril 
of  his  life.2 

On  the  Northumberland,  or  West  Branch,  frontier 
there  was  much  less  cause  for  fear  and  anxiety  in  1776 
than  on  that  of  Westmoreland.  Fort  Augusta,  now  Sun- 
bury,  was  the  headquarters  of  the  military  department  of 
the  upper  Susquehanna .  The  first  battalion  of  Associators 
was  organized  February  8th,  1776, 3  with  Samuel  Hunter 
as  Colonel.  Under  the  militia  law  of  1777,  he  was  ap 
pointed  county  lieutenant,  and  exercised  authority  to  the 
close  of  the  war.  He  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  is  first 
mentioned  in  the  history  of  Pennsylvania  as  in  command 
of  the  militia  at  Fort  Augusta,  in  I763.4  In  November 
following,  he  was  commissioned  captain,  and  served  in 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  4,  p.  659. 

2  Craig's  History  of  Pittsburg,  chapters  11-12. 

3  Pennsylvania  Associators,  vol.  2,  p.  337. 

4  McGinness'  History  of  West  Branch,  vol.  1,  p.  284. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         63 

Bouquet's  campaign  the  next  year.  He  performed  valua 
ble  services  on  the  frontier,  and  served  as  a  member  of 
the  Council  of  Censors  in  1783.  He  died  at  Fort  Augusta 
in  1784,  and  was  buried  there. 

The  first  intimation  of  fear  in  Northumberland  con 
cerning  Indian  attacks  was  given  March  i3th,  I776.1  The 
Committee  of  the  county  wrote  to  Colonel  Hunter,  who 
was  then  in  Philadelphia  for  service  to  his  country,  to 
present  their  condition  as  a  frontier  county  to  the  Council 
of  Safety,  and  ask  them,  if  more  men  were  wanted, 
whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  have  two  or  three  com 
panies  raised,  officered  and  disciplined,  and  put  into  im 
mediate  pay  ;  and  if  not  wanted  nearer  home,  to  be  ready 
wherever  needed.  They  also  complained  of  recruiting 
officers  from  other  counties  coming  to  that  infant  frontier 
county  and  draining  it  of  its  single  men,  who  "  choose 
rather,  under  pay,  to  have  to  do  with  a  humane  enemy, 
than,  at  their  own  expense,  encounter  merciless  savages. ' ' 
Two  weeks  later,  the  Committee  wrote  directly  to  the 
Council  of  Safety.  They  held  that  the  safety  of  the  "  in 
terior  parts  of  the  Province  would  be  better  secured  by 
adding  strength  to  the  frontiers."  They  also  gave  the 
Council  a  glimpse  into  their  condition  as  frontiersmen. 
The  people  were  poor,  many  of  them  had  come  there 
"  bare  and  naked,"  while  those  who  had  a  little  property 
were  no  better  off  on  account  of  the  delay  in  cultivating 
a  wilderness  before  they  could  have  any  produce  to  live 
upon.  A  well-disciplined  militia  was  not  possible  under 
such  conditions.  Some  men  had  to  lose  two  days  in  go 
ing  to  muster  ;  and  not  being  paid  for  it,  they  could  not 
attend  regularly.  In  spite  of  these  untoward  circum 
stances,  the  Committee  had  the  pleasure  of  informing  the 


1  PetmsylTania  Associators,  vol.  2,  p.  342. 


64        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

Council,  in  June,  that  there  were  very  few  (if  any)  disaf 
fected  persons  amongst  them,  and  the  non-Associators 
very  inconsiderable.  The  greatest  difficulty  in  the  way 
of  defense  was  that  they  were  very  ill-armed,  having  al 
ready  sent  all  the  best  arms  with  their  men  into  the 
Continental  and  Provincial  service. 

Another  matter  of  great  anxiety  to  the  patriots  on  the 
North  Branch  was  the  scarcity  of  salt.  But  from  this  the 
people  of  the  whole  Province  suffered.  The  non-importa 
tion  act  of  the  first  Continental  Congress  had  caused  this 
dilemma.  So,  early  in  June,  1776,  steps  were  taken  by 
the  Province  to  establish  salt  works  at  Tom's  River,  New 
Jersey,  to  relieve  public  necessities  and  reduce  the  exor 
bitant  price  of  this  article.1  In  this  way  the  Province,  in 
November,  was  able  to  make  a  distribution  among  the 
counties  according  to  their  necessities.  It  was  to  be  sold 
at  fifteen  shillings  a  bushel,  and  in  quantities  of  not  more 
than  half  a  bushel  to  any  one  family.  However,  the  price 
and  quantity  could  not  long  be  regulated.2  The  works 
of  Tom's  River  proved  of  little  account,  and  salt  had  to 
be  procured  from  any  source  and  at  any  price.  On  the 
frontier,  it  was  especially  hard  to  get.  The  militia  that 
came  from  the  back  counties  to  the  support  of  Washing 
ton  's  army  at  Trenton  and  Princeton  could  not  be  sup 
plied  with  the  smallest  quantity. 

Nothing  further  was  said  in  Northumberland  about 
fears  of  an  Indian  invasion  until  the  close  of  July,  when 
the  delegates  of  the  county  to  the  Provincial  Convention 
petitioned  the  Council  of  Safety  for  aid.  A  month  later, 
John  Harris  wrote  3  from  Paxtang  that  the  Indians  were 
for  war,  as  had  been  learned  from  some  twenty  of  them, 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  4,  p.  771. 

2  Colonial  Records,  vol.  11,  p.  41. 

3  Annals  of  Buffalo  Valley,  p.  97. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         65 

who  had  been  at  Sunbury.  Captain  John  Brady  had  in 
duced  a  few  Senecas  and  Monseys  to  come  to  Fort  Augusta 
to  make  a  treaty;  but  nothing  was  accomplished,  save 
the  partial  consumption  of  a  barrel  of  whiskey  by  the 
savages,  and  the  total  destruction  of  the  rest  by  Brady  to 
avoid  evil  consequences.  One  of  the  Indians  told  him  he 
would  some  day  rue  the  spilling  of  that  barrel.  Whether 
Brady's  death  in  1779  was  in  payment  of  this  threatened 
penalty  cannot  be  known  ;  but,  if  it  was,  the  barrel  of 
whiskey  was  dearly  paid  for.  Captain  John  Brady  was 
born  in  Delaware,  1733,  his  father  having  emigrated  from 
Ireland.  The  family  removed  to  the  Cumberland  Valley, 
near  Shippensburg,  and  John  became  a  surveyor  and  pio 
neer.  After  marrying,  he  lived  at  Standing  Stone,  now 
Huntingdon,  till  1769,  when  he  settled  on  the  West 
Branch.  In  1776,  he  was  appointed  a  captain  in  the  i2th 
Pennsylvania,  and  was  wounded  severely  at  Brandy  wine. 
The  Indians  becoming  troublesome  on  the  Susquehanna, 
Washington  ordered  Captain  Brady  home  to  assist  in  the 
defense  of  the  frontier.  Before  losing  his  own  life,  he  was 
called  upon  to  mourn  the  death  of  his  son,  James,  who 
was  killed  by  the  Indians  while  he  was  reaping  the  har 
vest.  Captain  John  Brady  was  the  head  of  an  illustrious 
family.  Sam,  the  oldest  of  six  sons,  and  Hugh,  the 
youngest,  both  served  their  country  well — Sam  as  the 
famous  scout  and  Indian  fighter,  and  Hugh  as  a  General 
in  the  United  States  Army. 

The  first  reference  to  Indian  incursions  on  the  records 
of  Northampton  county  is  found  on  the  minutes  of  the 
Standing  Committee,  of  August  8th,  1776,  when  thecom- 
rnitteemen  of  each  township  were  summoned  to  meet  at 
Hasten,  "  the  i6th  inst.,"  "  to  consult  upon  the  safety  of 
the  county  against  incursions  of  the  Indians."  *  On  the 

1  Pennsylvania  Associators,  vol.  2,  p.  613. 


66        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

day  appointed  it  was  resolved  that  "  the  militia  of  this 
county  do  not  march  to  New  Jersey  according  to  the  re 
solves  of  the  Convention  ;"  and  further,  that  "  a  maga 
zine  of  powder,  lead  and  arms  be  immediately  collected 
.  .  .  for  the  defense  of  this  county  against  incursions 
and  depredations  of  the  Indian  enemy,  and  that  the  Stand 
ing  Committee  write  to  the  Convention  or  Council  of 
Safety  for  such  ammunition  and  arms."  When  it  had 
become  apparent  that  Howe,  after  leaving  Boston,  was 
making  New  York  the  objective  point,  Congress  resolved 
to  reinforce  Washington  with  13,800  militia,  10,000  of 
whom  were  to  form  the  ' c  Flying  Camp. ' '  Pennsylvania's 
quota  was  6,000,  and  that  of  Northampton  county,  346. 
At  the  time  it  was  resolved  at  Easton  that  the  militia 
should  not  march  to  New  Jersey,  the  first  installment  was 
already  on  the  way ;  1  and  the  Provincial  Convention  in 
Philadelphia  had  asked  Congress  not  to  march  the  rest 
with  the  Flying  Camp .  Dangers  were  reported  from  the  en 
tire  frontier  of  the  Province.  It  was  then  that  the  situation 
at  Fort  Pitt  began  to  look  critical.  Accordingly,  on 
August  loth,  the  Provincial  Convention  2  excused  the 
Associators  of  Northumberland,  Northampton,  Bedford 
and  Westmoreland  counties  from  marching  to  the  Jerseys 
until  the  danger  from  the  Indians  had  subsided.  The 
request  of  the  Committee  from  Northampton  seems  to 
have  become  a  popular  one  to  make  just  then.  On  the 
1 5th  of  August,  the  township  of  Albany,  in  Berks  county, 
also  asked  that  its  quota  for  the  Flying  Camp  be  excused 
from  marching  on  the  pretext  that  the  Indians  were  com 
ing.  The  Convention  tabled  this  request. 

Northampton  and  Northumberland  caused  Wyoming 
no  uneasiness  in  1776,  common  interests  having  put  a 

1  History  of  Lehigh  and  Carbon  Counties,  p.  13. 

2  Jonrnal  of  Representatives  and  Proceeding's  of  Committees,  p.  68. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         67 

quietus  on  the  civil  feud  ;  but  the  Six  Nations  now  began 
to  threaten  the  Valley.  As  at  Fort  Pitt,  the  Indians  com 
mitted  offenses  against  individuals  only.  A  person, 
named  Wilson,  was  attacked  and  roughly  handled.1 
Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  without  any  official  authority, 
thereupon  sent  a  messenger  to  the  neighboring  tribes  to 
ascertain  their  intentions.  A  chief  returned  with  the 
messenger.  He  said  the  Indians  at  the  head  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna  were  all  one  mind,  and  were  all  for  peace.2  He 
denied  having  had  any  hand  in  the  attack  upon  Wilson. 
The  messenger  of  Butler  brought  word  back  that  the  In 
dians  were  very  anxious  for  a  council-fire  to  be  held  at 
Wyoming.  Their  importunity  was  so  pressing  that  But 
ler  wrote  Roger  Sherman,  member  of  Congress  from  Con 
necticut,  for  advice.  Butler  wanted  Connecticut  to  act, 
because  when  the  Indians  came  to  Westmoreland  they 
expected  presents  and  hospitality  Irom  him.  He  had 
frequently  given  them,  but  found  the  burden  too  great  for 
one  man  to  bear.  They  also  wanted  a  United  States  flag. 
They  probably  had  sinister  motives  in  these  requests.3 
The  council-fire  was  a  scheme  to  get  into  Wyoming  with 
out  creating  alarm,  and  then  treacherously  to  destroy  the 
settlement ;  while  the  flag  would  serve  as  a  decoy  on  a 
fitting  occasion. 

In  September,  a  deputation  of  three  chiefs  arrived  at 
Wyoming,  and  brought  a  "Talk  "  agreed  upon  by  certain 
authorized  chiefs.4  While  it  professed  peaceable  inten 
tions,  its  tone  was  one  of  complaint.  The  request  for  a 
fire  at  Wyoming  was  repeated,  "  so  that  the  flame  and 
smoke  may  arise  to  the  clouds."  Figuratively  taken, 


1  American  Archives,  vol.  2,  series  5,  p.  824. 

2  Ibid,  p.  825. 

3  Miner's  History  of  Wyoming1,  p.  185. 

4  Ibid,  p.  186. 


68        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

this  was  quite  prophetic  of  the  massacre  of  1778.  The 
uneasiness  in  Wyoming  and  Northampton  was  the  result 
of  the  retreat  of  the  American  army  from  Caflada  to  Crown 
Point.  Every  artifice  was  used  by  Guy  Johnson  and  John 
Butler  to  set  the  Indians  on  the  frontiers  of  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania.  A  report  had  reached  the  Wyoming 
Valley  in  August  that  Colonel  Butler  was  at  Oswego 
"  with  Indians  and  Canadians."  1 

As  has  been  seen,  the  burden  of  Indian  affairs  rested 
on  Zebulon  Butler.  He  was  born  in  Connecticut  and  died 
at  Wilkesbarre.  He  served  in  the  French  and  Indian 
War,  and  in  the  expedition  to  Havana,  and  rose  to  be  a 
captain  in  1761.  Resettled  in  Wyoming  in  1769,  and  led 
the  Yankees  in  the  war  with  the  Pennamites.  He  was 
moderator  at  the  town  meeting  of  Westmoreland,  August 
24th,  1776,  when  steps  were  taken  for  the  defense  of 
Wyoming  by  the  erection  of  forts — an  act  that  aroused 
the  insolence  of  the  Indians  who  still  dwelt  in  the  valley. 
He  was  made  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  regiment  in  the 
Connecticut  Line,  which  contained  the  companies  raised 
in  Westmoreland.  Butler  became  Colonel  in  March, 
1778,  and  while  on  a  furlough  he  commanded  the  weak 
garrison  at  Wyoming  in  the  massacre  of  July.  He  served 
with  distinction  throughout  the  war ;  but  on  his  arrival 
home  was  seized  and  without  law  was  cast  into  prison  for 
a  brief  time,  because  he  threatened  to  set  fire  to  a  set  of 
riotous  soldiers  just  discharged. 

With  the  close  of  the  year  1776,  all  hope  of  averting 
war  with  the  Indians  had  disappeared.  The  accession  of 
the  savage  interest  to  the  cause  of  Great  Britain  was  now 
complete.  It  was  certain  that  the  frontier  settlements 
would  be  one  line  of  murder  and  conflagration.  Governor 
Hamilton,  at  Detroit,  to  whom  the  entire  management  of 

1  Miner's  History  of  Wyoming-,  p.  187. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.  69 

frontier  affairs  had  been  entrusted,  was  ordered  by  Guy 
Carleton,  October  6th,  1776,  to  enlist  the  Indians  and 
have  them  ready  in  the  spring.1  The  purpose  of  this  at 
tack  on  the  frontier  was  to  weaken  -the  main  army  of  the 
"Rebels"  and  facilitate  the  operations  of  Howe  and  Bur- 
goyne.  Hamilton  was  fully  aware  of  the  importance  of 
his  part  and  played  it  well.  He  soon  acquired  the  hatred 
of  the  "buckskins,"  who  held  him  in  abhorrence  and 
nicknamed  him  the  "hair-buyer"  general.  That  he  de 
served  this  name  is  disputed  ;  but  scalps  were  bought  and 
paid  for  at  Detroit.  There  is  an  account  of  an  Indian, 
who,  by  dividing  a  large  scalp  into  two,  got  $50  for  each 
half  at  Detroit. 2  Franklin  in  his  list  of  twenty-six  British 
atrocities,3  gives  the  icth  and  i4th  as— 

"The  King-  of  England,  giving-  audience  to  his  Secretary  of 
War,  who  presents  him  a  schedule  entitled  Account  oj  Scalps  ; 
which  he  receives  very  graciously." 

"The  commanding-  officer  at  Niagara,  sitting-  in  state,  a 
table  before  him,  his  soldiers  and  savages  bring  him  scalps  of 
the  Wyoming  families  and  presenting-  them.  Money  on  the 
table  with  which  he  pays  for  them." 

It  would  seem  that  the  British  Government  took  the 
initiative  in  the  matter  of  premiums  for  scalps,  for  it  was 
not  until  1779  that  the  subject  was  mentioned  officially, 
in  Pennsylvania  at  least.  President  Reed  then  inquired 
in  a  letter  to  Colonel  Lochry,  stationed  at  Hannastown, 
whether  the  inhabitants  on  the  frontiers  desired  a  reward 
on  Indian  scalps.4  The  reply  was  that  they  favored  it, 
as  it  would  give  spirit  and  alacrity  to  the  young  men  and 
make  it  their  interest  to  be  constantly  on  the  scout.  But 
Reed  got  no  encouragement  at  that  time  from  the  people 


1  Haldimand  MSS.,  Book  121  p.  3. 

2  The  Winning  of  the  West,  vol.  2,  p.  3. 

3  Franklin's  Works,  vol.  10,  p.  73. 

4  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7,  p.  362. 


70        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

in  Philadelphia,  nor  from  Congress.1  Early  the  next  year, 
however,  remembering  with  what  advantage  young  men 
in  former  Indian  wars  went  out  in  small  parties  to  harass 
the  enemy  and  strike  them  in  their  own  homes,  the 
Executive  Council  offered  $i  ,000  for  every  Indian  scalp. 2 
This  step  was  undoubtedly  taken,  also,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  British  had  done  so  before.  American  prisoners 
who  had  been  taken  by  the  Indians  and  returned  from 
Detroit  and  Niagara  reported  that  rewards  were  paid  for 
scalps  at  those  places.3  It  should  be  said  that  the  offer 
of  a  premium  for  scalps  was  made  in  deference  to  the 
wishes  of  the  distracted  frontiersman  at  a  time  when  there 
was  no  safety  outside  of  the  forts,  when  seeding  and  har 
vesting  had  to  be  done  under  the  protection  of  the  militia, 
and  when  Detroit  and  Niagara  were  crowded  with  unfor 
tunate  captives.  Furthermore,  the  offer  was  practically 
a  dead  letter,  for  President  Reed  repeatedly  said  that  it 
was  barren  of  results.  Nor  must  the  fact  be  overlooked 
that  Congress  had  not  sanctioned  it,  and  that  Continental 
officers  refused  to  let  it  go  into  effect  where  they  had  juris 
diction  4 

General  Carleton's  injunction  to  Governor  Hamilton 
to  have  the  savages  ready  in  the  spring,  was  faithfully 
observed.  Before  the  snow  was  off  the  ground,  the  war 
parties  crossed  the  Ohio  and  fell  on  the  Western  frontier. 
Tories  were  at  work,  too.  They  sought  to  bring  on  a 
war  with  the  savages  by  massacring  friendly  Indians 
who  came  to  see  the  Indian  agent.5  Colonel  Morgan  felt 
obliged  to  let  these  messengers  sleep  in  his  own  chamber 
for  security.  The  Tories  on  the  frontier  were  in  a  posi- 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7,  p.  569. 

2  Ibid,  vol.  8,  p.  167. 

3  Ibid,  p.  172. 

4  Ibid,  vol.  12,  p  240. 

5  Ibid,  vol.  5,  p.  287. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.  71 

tion  to  do  vastly  more  for  the  British  cause  than  those  in 
the  interior.  Law  of  any  kind — civil  or  military — was 
not  so  readily  enforced,  especially  around  Fort  Pitt,  where 
the  civil  feud  had  not  yet  died  out;  escape  from  justice 
was  more  easy  ;  intrigues  could  be  planned  with  greater 
security  ;  the  fear  from  forfeiture  of  property  in  case  of 
detection  did  not  operate  so  strongly,  for  there  was  less 
attachment  for  hearth  and  home  ;  while  a  disaffected  rifle 
man  from  the  frontier,  fighting  with  the  Indians,  did  more 
effective  service  than  a  Loyalist  in  the  ranks  of  the  British 
army.  In  fact,  the  Tories  on  the  frontier  were  the  leaders  ; 
of  the  border  warfare.  They  knew  the  Indians,  their 
mode  of  warfare  and  their  secret  paths.  Little  wonder, 
therefore,  that  Lord  Germaine  was  so  anxious  that  "all 
such  loyal  subjects"  should  "engage  in  the  King's  ser 
vice";1  and  that  the  arrival  of  McKee,  Elliott  and  Girty 
at  Detroit,  was  especially  commented  upon  in  a  letter  by 
Hamilton  to  General  Carleton.2 

By  the  first  of  April ,  the  whole  Western  frontier  was 
in  consternation.  Death  and  captivity  had  struck  such 
terror  in  the  minds  of  the  people  that  most  of  them  fled 
to  the  heart  of  the  settlement  and  a  greater  number  over 
the  mountains.3  Archibald  Lochry,  the  Lieutenant  of 
Westmoreland  county,  quickly  raised  a  company  of 
rangers,  else  the  country  would  have  been  deserted. 
Lochry  was  a  pillar  in  Westmoreland  until  he  was  killed 
in  the  wilderness  of  Ohio,  while  on  an  expedition  against 
the  Indians,  in  1781.  He  was  of  Scotch-Irish  birth, 
probably  born  in  the  Octarora  settlement ;  for  in  1763  he 
was  an  ensign  in  the  Second  Battalion  4  of  the  Provincial 
troops.  While  in  the  service  on  the  frontier,  he  formed 

1  Haldimand,  MSS.,  Book  121,  p.  8. 

2  Ibid,  Book  122,  p.  35. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  5,  p.  344. 

4  Pennsylvania  Archives,  2nd  Series,  vol.  2,  p.  614. 


72        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

a  desire  for  a  home  remote  from  the  settlements,  and  so 
he  took  up  a  large  tract  of  land  between  Greensburg  and 
Ligouier.  His  official  correspondence  was  dated  at  the 
"Twelve-Mile  Run." 

The  conditions  as  described  by  Morgan  and  Lochry 
moved  Congress,  April  gth,  to  appoint  an  experienced 
officer  to  take  command  on  the  Western  frontiers.1  Ac 
cordingly,  Brigadier- General  Edward  Hand  was  appointed 
and  he  assumed  his  duties  June  ist.  Reports  of  Indian 
atrocities  were  forwarded  by  him  to  the  Executive  Coun 
cil,  with  the  request  that  the  militia  of  Westmoreland  and 
Bedford  be  placed  under  his  orders.2  The  matter  was 
laid  before  Congress,  and  on  August  i6th,  that  body 
passed  a  resolution  desiring  the  Council  to  give  the  Gen 
eral  "such  assistance  from  the  militia  of  the  counties  of 
Westmoreland,  Northumberland  and  Bedford"  as  he 
might  "think  necessary"  to  carry  war  into  the  Indian 
country.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  Indian  expedi 
tions  of  Pennsylvania. 

Edward  Hand,  M.  D.,  was  a  native  of  Ireland  and 
came  to  this  country  as  a  surgeon's  mate  in  the  Royal 
Irish  regiment,  1767.  Dr.  Hand  was  stationed  at  Fort 
Pitt  until  1774,  when  he  resigned  his  commission  and 
went  to  Lancaster  to  practice  medicine.  He  gave  his 
allegiance  to  the  Colonies,  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  rifles  3  and  entered  the  army  as  Lieutenant  Colonel  in 
Thompson's  famous  Battalion  of  Riflemen.  The  rifle,  in 
1775,  was  used  only  along  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania 
and  the  Southern  Colonies.4  It  had  been  introduced  into 
Pennsylvania  about  1700  by  Swiss  and  Palatine  immi 
grants.  The  frontiersmen  improved  it  and  made  out  of 

1  Journal  of  Congress,  vol.  3,  p.  100. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  5,  p.  143. 

3  Pennsylvania  Magazines,  vol.  14,  p.  333. 

4  Harper's  Majfa*ine,  May,  ^99,  The  Birth  of  the  American  Army. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         73 

it  a  superior  type  of  fire-arms.  Over  every  cabin  door 
hung  a  well-made  and  correctly -sighted  rifle.  As  soon  as 
a  boy  was  big  enough  to  level  it,  he  was  given  powder 
and  ball  to  shoot  squirrels.  The  wars  with  the  Indians 
taught  the  boys  to  keep  cool  and  shoot  straight  under 
fire.  These  were  the  "expert  riflemen"  organized  by 
Act  of  Congress,  June  i4th,  1775,  into  a  corps  of  nine 
companies,  from  the  counties  of  Cumberland,  York,  Lan 
caster,  Northumberland,  Bedford,  Berks  and  Northamp 
ton,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  William  Thompson 
of  Carlisle,  and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Edward  Hand  of 
Lancaster.  In  one  short  month,  the  first  company, 
Nagel's  Berks  County  "Dutchmen,"  was  at  Cambridge, 
and  in  less  than  60  days,  nine  companies  of  back- woods 
men  from  Pennsylvania,  two  from  Maryland  and  two  from 
Virginia — 1,430  all  told — were  at  Boston.  When  they 
made  a  charge  or  awaited  one,  the  command — 'Wait  till 
you  see  the  whites  of  their  eyes" — was  not  necessary. 
For  unlike  the  muskets  and  shot-guns  of  the  New  Eng- 
landers,  the  rifle  could  be  relied  upon  to  hit  a  man  at  a 
much  greater  distance.  At  a  review,  a  company  of  these 
riflemen,  while  on  a  quick  advance,  fired  their  balls  into 
objects  of  seven-inch  diameter  at  a  distance  of  250  yards. 
Their  shots  frequently  proved  fatal  to  British  officers  and 
soldiers. x  So  frequent  became  the  returns  of  British  offi 
cers,  pickets  and  artillerymen  shot  at  long  range,  that 
Edmund  Burke  exclaimed  in  Parliament,  "Your  officers 
are  swept  off  by  the  rifles  if  they  show  their  noses." 

These  men  were  the  flower  of  the  frontier,  "remarka 
bly  stout  and  hardy,  many  of  them  exceeding  six  feet  in 
height."  They  were  the  first  troops  levied  on  this  conti 
nent  by  authority  of  a  central  representative  government. 
They  were  the  nucleus  of  the  American  army,  absolutely 

1  Thatcher's  Military  Journal,  August  17th,  1775. 


74         Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

loyal  to  the  American  cause,  and  knowing  no  fatherland 
but  the  wilderness.  Even  their  garb,  patterned  after  that 
of  the  Indians,  was  distinctively  American.  And  when 
Congress  drew  its  first  levies  from  the  frontiers,  it  stirred 
into  the  American  army  the  leaven  that  leavened  the 
whole.  But  what  was  the  gain  of  the  Continental  army 
was  the  loss  of  the  frontier.  And  when  England,  in  1777, 
began  to  attack  the  rear-guard  all  along  the  line,  the  ab 
sence  of  so  many  of  the  best  men  belonging  to  it  was  a 
serious  matter.  It  is  therefore  clear  why  Edward  Hand, 
who  had  already  become  a  brigadier  general  of  the  Rifle 
men,  was  selected  to  assume  command  at  Fort  Pitt. 
General  Hand  served  his  country  to  the  end  of  the  Revo 
lution,  and  then  resumed  the  practice  of  medicine  at 
Lancaster.  He  also  held  a  number  of  important  civil 
trusts,  one  of  which  was  to  act  as  an  elector  for  choosing 
the  first  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States; 
and  another  to  help  frame  the  State  Constitution  of  1790. 
He  died  at  his  farm  at  Rockford,  Lancaster  county,  1802. 1 
The  expedition  planned  by  Hand  could  not  be  made. 
He  made  a  call  for  2,000  militia,  but  they  were  not  in  a 
humor  to  turn  out,  "for  this,  that  and  a  thousand 
reasons,  which  probably  could  not  be  obviated  without 
violating  the  militia  law  and  discarding  many  officers,  the 
General  perhaps  not  excepted."  2  There  was  a  lack  of 
unity  between  the  Virginians  and  the  Pennsylvanians, 
and  the  danger  in  withdrawing  so  many  of  the  militia  also 
had  much  to  do  with  the  failure.3  The  most,  therefore, 
that  Hand  could  do  was  to  protect  the  settlements  through 
defensive  measures.  "  If  I  can  assist  the  inhabitants  to 
stand  their  ground,"  he  wrote,  "  I  shall  deem  myself  do- 


1  Pennsylvania  Historical  Magazine,  vol.  7,  p.  98. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  18. 

3  Ibid,   p.  68. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         75 

ing  a  great  deal."1  The  defensive  measures,  aside  from 
calling  out  the  militia  and  directing  their  movements, 
consisted  in  the  erection  of  forts,  stockades  and  block 
houses.  The  Western  frontier  line  needing  protection  on 
the  north  reached  from  the  Allegheny  Mountains  to  Kit- 
tanning,  thence  down  the  Allegheny  river  for  forty-five 
miles  to  Pittsburg,  and  along  the  Ohio  as  far  as  the  Great 
Kanawha. 

The  building  of  frontier  forts  in  the  Revolution  was 
one  of  the  valuable  lessons  learned  in  the  French  war. 
There  were  erected  during  the  campaigns  of  1755-58,  and 
that  of  1763,  no  less  than  207  forts,  large  and  small.2 
The  chain  formed  two  distinct  barriers  on  the  west.  The 
outer  one  guarded  what  was  the  frontier  against  the 
French,  along  the  east  bank  of  the  Ohio  (Allegheny)  river, 
from  Kittanning  to  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  Prov 
ince.  The  inner  line  extending  along  the  Blue  Moun 
tains,  from  the  Delaware  river  to  the  Maryland  line, 
guarded  against  Indian  raids.  Between  these  two  chains 
were  isolated  forts  at  Lewistown ,  Shirley,  Fort  Littleton, 
Bedford,  L,oudon  and  other  points.  In  addition  to  these 
forts,  it  became  necessary  at  various  points,  where  depre 
dations  were  most  frequent,  to  erect  stockades  around 
strongly-built  farm  houses  and  mills,  or  to  build  block 
houses  specially  as  places  of  safety  and  defense.  Most  of 
this  work  was  done  by  the  Province  ;  but  some  of  it, 
principally  the  erection  of  stockades  and  block-houses, 
was  the  result  of  local  effort.3 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  but  a  few  of  the 
forts  erected  in  the  French  war  were  in  a  state  of  defense. 
They  were  Fort  Pitt,  Fort  Ligonier,  Fort  Augusta,  and 

1  History  of  Allegheny  County,  p.  82. 

2  Frontier  Forts  of  Pennsylvania,  passim. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  2,  p.  552  ;  also,  Frontier  Forts,  vol.  1.  pp. 

250,258,265. 


76         Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

others  possibly  that  were  not  needed  then,  as  the  frontier 
had  moved  considerably  northward  and  westward  since 
1763.  The  first  forts  of  the  Revolutionary  period  in 
Western  Pennsylvania  were  erected  during  the  time  of 
Dunin ore's  war,  to  put  a  stop  to  the  unreasonable  panic 
that  had  seized  the  inhabitants.1  Then  there  was  no  fur 
ther  occasion  for  such  defenses,  until  General  Hand's  plan 
of  carrying  the  war  into  the  Indian  country  failed,  and  he 
had  to  be  content  with  protective  measures.  Including 
the  rehabilitation  of  a  number  of  old  forts — notably  Fort 
L,igonier  and  Hannastown — he  succeeded  in  putting  up  a 
large  number  of  new  forts,  stockades  and  block-houses. 
Colonel  L,ochry,  who  kept  a  diligent  watch  over  affairs, 
reported  in  November  that  the  whole  population  north  of 
the  old  Forbes  Road,  from  the  Allegheny  mountains  to 
the  river,  were  kept  close  in  forts  and  could  get  no  sub 
sistence  from  their  plantations. 

It  was  frequently  the  case  that  the  settlers  had  to  live 
in  the  forts  for  weeks  at  a  time,  taking  their  scanty  house 
hold  goods,  farm  implements  and  live-stock  with  them 
into  the  enclosure.  When  there  was  no  immediate  danger 
outside,  the  men,  leaving  the  women  and  children  inside, 
went  to  their  fields  in  the  day  and  returned  at  night,  but 
never  without  their  rifles  close  at  hand.  Sentinels  were 
placed  at  proper  places,  and  on  the  least  alarm  the  whole 
company  of  workers  repaired  to  their  arms .  The  fort  con 
sisted  of  cabins,  stockades  and  block-houses.  A  range  of 
cabins  formed  at  least  one  side  of  the  fort,  with  log  parti 
tions  between  them.  The  walls  on  the  outside  were  ten 
to  twelve  feet  high,  the  slope  of  the  roof  being  turned  in 
ward  .  The  block  -houses  were  built  at  the  angles  of  the  fort , 
and  projected  about  two  feet  beyond  the  outer  walls  of  the 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  voi.  4,  p.  519. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         77 

cabins  and  stockades.  Their  upper  story  was  larger  each 
way  than  the  under  one,  leaving  an  opening  at  the  com 
mencement  of  the  second  story  to  prevent  the  enemy  from 
making  a  lodgment  under  the  walls.  Bastions  instead  of 
block-houses  sometimes  rose  at  the  corners.  A  large 
folding  gate,  made  of  thick  slabs,  opened  out  towards  the 
nearest  spring.  The  stockades,  bastions,  cabins  and 
block-houses  were  all  furnished  with  portholes,  while  the 
whole  of  the  outside  was  made  completely  bullet-proof.1 
Attacks  on  one  of  these  forts  seldom  succeeded,  unless  its 
male  occupants  were  cut  off  from  it  or  its  supplies  gave 
out.  Whenever  the  enemy  came  in  sight,  everybody  in 
the  enclosure  assisted  in  the  defense.  There  was  more 
than  one  "Mollie  Pitcher"  engaged  in  the  border  warfare  ; 
for  it  was  common  for  the  women  in  the  frontier  forts  to 
run  bullets  for  their  husbands  or  brothers,  and  assist 
otherwise  in  the  defense  of  life  and  property. 

There  were  about  one  hundred  of  these  forts  and  block 
houses  put  up  in  the  Revolutionary  period  west  of  the 
mountains  ;  and  about  a  dozen  in  each  of  the  valleys  of 
the  Juniata,  the  North  Branch  and  the  West  Branch.2 
One,  Fort  Penn,  was  erected  by  Northampton  county  on 
the  present  site  of  Stroudsburg. 

The  Indians,  in  1777,  extended  their  raids  from  the 
West  even  across  the  mountains.3  A  day  hardly  passed 
in  the  region  of  what  is  now  Bedford,  Blair  and  Hunting 
don  counties,  without  hearing  of  some  new  murder.  One- 
half  of  the  people  fled,  and  the  others  were  busy  removing 
their  effects  to  places  of  safety  and  ranging  the  country 
by  turns.  In  their  appeal  for  help,  the  inhabitants  of 
Bedford  said  that  Cumberland  county  would  soon  be  a 


1  Frontier  Forts,  vol.  2,  p.  401. 

2  Frontier  Forts,  passim. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  39. 


I 


78        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

frontier.  These  people  were  especially  in  need  of  guns, 
"for  when  the  men  were  raised  for  the  army,"  they  said, 
"you  know  we  procured  every  gun  that  we  could  for  their 
use  .  .  .  The  safety  of  our  country  then  loudly  called 
on  us  to  send  all  the  arms  to  the  Camp  that  could  be  pro 
cured,  and  it  now  as  loudly  calls  on  us  to  entreat  that  we 
may  be  allowed  some  as  soon  as  possible."  The  condi 
tion  of  the  Western  frontier  in  December  is  well  summed 
up  in  a  letter  by  Lieutenant  Archy  to  President  Warton,1 
"If  there  Is  Not  Stors  Laid  in  this  Winter,  in  Spring 
they  Must  leave  the  Countery  ;  they  Have  no  Salt  to  Lay 
Up  Meat,  their  Grain  is  all  Burned  &  Destroyed  on  the 
North  of  the  Cunnemach  ;  if  there  is  No  Store  of  Provi 
sion  for  Next  Summer  and  People  Hindered  from  Spring 
Crops,  the  Cuntery  is  undoubtedly  Broke  up." 

The  Susquehanna  Valleys,  in  1777,  were  thrown  into 
fear  and  consternation  quite  early  in  the  year  by  news 
that  there  were  15,000  Ministerial  troops  at  Niagara, 
which  were  to  move  in  three  divisions  :  4,000  of  them 
were  to  come  down  the  North  Branch,  4,000  down  the 
West  Branch,  and  7,000  down  the  Mohawk,  and  that  a 
number  of  Indians  were  to  be  along  with  them.2  The 
Committee  of  Northumberland  after  confirming  the  rumor, 
wrote  to  the  Executive  Council,  in  April,  that  the  county 
was  not  able  to  make  a  defense  on  account  of  the  want  of 
arms  and  ammunition,  the  men  who  had  joined  Wash 
ington's  army  having  taken  the  greater  part  of  the  arms 
fit  for  service.  But  the  year  1777  was  a  trying  time  for 
Philadelphia.  Assistance  from  the  Council  or  Congress 
could  not  be  expected  when  the  city  was  taken  by  Howe, 
and  the  State  and  United  States  Governments  were  on 
wheels  to  Lancaster  and  York  Town.  Northumberland, 


1  Pennsylvania.  Archives,  vc  1.  6,  p.  68. 

2  Pennsylvania  Associators,  vol.  2,  p.  366. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         79 

like  Westmoreland,  had  to  defend  itself  unaided.  Stock 
ade  forts  were  constructed  hastily,  and  the  settlers  aban 
doned  their  cabins  and  their  fields  of  grain,  to  seek  refuge 
within  these  enclosures.  Those  who  refused  or  neglected 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  forts  generally  paid  dearly  for 
their  folly. 

On  a  Sunday  morning  in  June,  the  Indians  killed  two 
men  who  had  gone  out  from  Ante's  fort  to  milk  the  cows. 
The  Indians  had  lured  them  into  the  bushes  by  seizing 
the  bell-cow  and  holding  her.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
a  series  of  murders  that  were  committed  incessantly  to  the 
end  of  the  year.  After  the  battle  of  Brandy  wine,  Captain 
John  Brady, x  and  a  number  of  other  officers  from  the  West 
Branch,  were  ordered  home  by  Washington  to  assist  the 
inhabitants  in  the  defense  of  their  homes  and  families. 
It  was  one  thing  for  a  man  in  the  older  communities  to 
become  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  ;  but  quite  another  for 
the  frontiersman .  The  latter  never  knew  when  he  enlisted 
what  evil  might  befall  his  wife  and  children  during 
his  absence.  So  it  must  have  been  a  welcome  order  for 
the  men  from  Northumberland  to  return  and  defend  their 
homes.  Colonel  John  Kelly,  who  had  been  ordered  home 
before,  had  command  on  the  frontier.  Colonel  Kelly  was 
born  in  Lancaster  county.  In  1768,  he  settled  in  Buffalo 
Valley,  then  a  part  of  Berks  county.  He  was  young,  of 
great  physical  vigor,  and  bold  as  a  lion.  In  1776,  he 
marched  to  the  Jerseys,  and  won  imperishable  glory  by 
cutting  the  girders  of  a  bridge  on  Stony  Creek  in  sight  of 
the  advancing  British.  After  the  war,  he  was  for  many 
years  a  magistrate  in  Union  county.  He  died  in  1832, 
and  a  monument  stands  on  his  grave  in  Lewisburg. 
Major  Moses  Van  Campen,  another  frontiersman,  re- 


1  See  Supra,  p.  65. 


80        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

nowned  for  his  daring,  served  a  three  months'  tour  with 
Kelly  in  the  summer  of  1777.  Van  Carnpen  was  of  Dutch 
and  French  extract,  born  in  New  Jersey,  and  after  living 
for  awhile  with  his  parents  at  the  Delaware  Water  Gap, 
in  Northampton  county,  came  with  them  to  the  Fishing 
Creek,  in  what  is  now  Columbia  county.  Getting  some 
taste  of  military  life  in  the  Pennamite  war  of  1775,  he  was 
prepared  for  service  in  the  Revolution,  and  marched  to 
Boston  with  a  regiment  from  Northumberland  to  join  the 
Continental  army.  In  1778,  he  was  taken  captive,  but 
freed  himself  by  killing  five  Indians.  He  accompanied 
Sullivan's  expedition  the  next  year,  and  performed  valiant 
deeds  on  the  frontier  till  1782,  when  he  was  again  cap 
tured  and  carried  to  Niagara.  There  he  was  given  the 
option  between  torture  and  death  at  the  hands  of  the  In 
dians  (for  he  was  recognized  as  the  man  who  had  killed 
so  many  Indians),  or  allegiance  to  the  British  cause. 
"  No,  sir,  no — my  life  belongs  to  my  country  ;  give  me 
the  stake,  the  tomahawk  or  the  scalping-knife  before  I 
will  dishonor  the  character  of  an  American  officer. ' '  His 
loyalty  saved  him,  and  he  became  a  prisoner  of  war.  He 
was  exchanged,  and  after  the  war  removed  to  New  York, 
where  he  died  in  1849,  at  the  age  of  92.* 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year,  Northumberland  was 
in  dire  straits.  The  first  and  second  classes  of  the  militia 
were  on  the  frontier  under  Kelley ;  the  Indian  atrocities 
did  not  abate  till  after  the  snow  had  fallen  ; 2  the  people 
could  with  difficulty  be  persuaded  to  return  to  their 
homes  ;  they  had  no  crops  ;  they  had  no  salt  to  cure  their 
winter  meats  ;  and  added  to  all  this,  the  third  and  fourth 
classes  of  the  militia  were  ordered  to  join  General  Wash- 


1  McGinness'  History  of  the  West  Branch  Valley,  p.  642-656. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  175. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         81 

ington  at  Valley  Forge,  but  had  neither  arms  nor 
blankets.1 

The  first  measure  of  defense  taken  by  Wyoming  in 
1777,  was  to  send  scouts  up  the  river  to  watch  the  Indian 
paths  and  bring  intelligence.  They  learned  that  certain 
Tories  were  busy  communicating  with  the  Indians  at 
Tioga  and  the  British  at  Niagara.  A  party  of  nine  men 
was  then  sent  out  to  arrest  the  Tories,  which  they  did  ; 
but  Lieutenant  John  Jenkins  and  three  others  were  cap 
tured  by  a  band  of  Tories  and  Indians.  He  and  two  of 
his  men  were  carried  to  Canada.  There  it  was  decided 
to  exchange  him  for  an  Indian  chief,  who  was  a  prisoner 
at  Albany.  When  Jenkins  came  there  under  an  Indian 
escort,  the  chief  had  died.  The  Indians  would  have 
tomahawked  Jenkins  if  they  could  ;  but  they  had  to  re 
lease  him  and  return  without  their  prisoner.  These  were 
the  first  prisoners  taken  from  Wyoming.  But  fortunately 
there  were  no  murders  or  outrages  committed  on  the 
North  Branch  that  year.  The  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations 
may  have  awaited  the  doubtful  issue  of  Burgoyne's  cam 
paign,  or  they  may  have  tried  to  lull  the  valley  into  se 
curity  and  "reserve  it  as  a  cherished  victim  for  another 
campaign."2  Had  they  been  more  aggressive,  the  two 
companies  in  the  Continental  army  might  have  been  re 
called,  and  the  tale  of  1778  been  less  horrifying.  The 
people,  however,  were  not  idle  ;  for  they  built  forts  upon 
an  enlarged  scale  and  with  greater  strength.  They 
worked  at  them  by  turns  ;  even  the  boys  and  the  old  men 
were  not  exempted  from  duty. 

On  the  Northampton  frontier,  there  was  no  border 
warfare  in  1777.  Fort  Penn  may  have  been  erected  then, 
but  there  is  no  positive  evidence  to  that  effect.3 

1  History  of  Juniata  and  Susquehanna  Valleys,  vol.  1,  p.  106. 

2  Miner's  History  of  Wyoming,  p.  200. 

3  Frontier  Forts,  TO!.  1,  p.  328. 


82        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

Of  all  the  dark,  impenetrable  clouds  that  passed  over 
the  American  army,  none  so  completely  veiled  the 
issues  of  the  Revolution  as  the  one  that  rested  over  Valley 
Forge  in  the  winter  of  1777-78.  And  it  was  then  that 
the  darkest,  most  horrible  plots  against  the  frontier  were 
formed  at  Niagara  and  Detroit  by  the  British  and  their 
Indian  allies.1  It  was  assumed,  and  rightly  so,  by  Gov 
ernor  Hamilton  that  "the  Rebels"  would  not  give  much 
attention  to  the  frontiers  since  the  taking  of  Philadelphia 
had  called  for  all  their  available  forces,  "and  they  would 
scarcely  send  from  that  quarter  a  good  officer,  staunch 
men,  or  serviceable  artillery."  The  Indians  had  lost 
enough  men  in  1777  "to  sharpen  their  resentment." 
They  brought  73  prisoners  alive  to  Governor  Hamilton 
and  129  scalps.  He  had  no  reason  "to  doubt  the  readi 
ness  of  the  chiefs  for  going  to  war  in  the  spring,  either  in 
small  parties  or  en  gross. "  The  savages  met  in  council 
at  Detroit,  June  i4th,  to  receive  their  orders.2  Every 
tribe  north  of  the  Ohio  and  east  of  the  Mississippi  seems 
to  have  been  represented.  Governor  Hamilton  thanked 
them  for  attending  his  call  and  assured  them  that  he  re 
membered  the  good  will  with  which  they  took  up  their 
father's  axe  (King  George's)  striking  as  one  man  his 
enemies  and  theirs,  forcing  "them  from  the  frontiers  to 
the  Coast,  where  they  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
King's  troops. ' '  He  then  told  them  that  the  British  had 
"taken  New  York,  Boston  and  Philadelphia,  and  driven 
the  Rebels  back  wherever  they  dared  show  their  faces, 
both  by  land  and  sea."  To  mix  resentment  with  the 
feeling  of  joy  which  these  victories  would  inspire  in  the 
savage  breast,  he  told  them  that  the  King,  always  atten 
tive  to  his  dutiful  children,  ordered  the  axe  to  be  put  into 

1  Haldimand  MSS.,  Book  122,  p.  26. 

2  Ibid,  pp.  54  and  75. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         83 

their  hands  "in  order  to  drive  the  Rebels  from  their  land, 
while  his  ships  of  war  and  his  armies  drove  them  from 
the  sea."  The  Indian  nations  accepted  the  axe  with 
great  cheerfulness  and  unanimity;  but  the  Delawares  were 
not  altogether  to  be  depended  on,  since  the  chiefs  present 
at  the  council  could  speak  for  only  sixty  of  them. 

Hamilton's  intrigues  at  Detroit  had  become  known  to 
Congress  before  1778.  On  November  2oth,  of  the  pre 
vious  year,1  that  body,  having  in  its  possession  some  of 
his  proclamations  lost  by  the  Indians  where  they  com 
mitted  their  murders,  concluded  that  he  was  responsible 
for  the  "barbarous  and  murderous  warfare."  They  also 
traced  the  disaffection,  so  prevalent  then  in  and  around 
Fort  Pitt,  to  his  agents  and  emissaries.  A  commission 
was  therefore  appointed  to  repair  to  Fort  Pitt  without 
delay  to  investigate  and  suppress  the  disaffection  in  that 
quarter,  and  to  concert  with  General  Hand  a  plan  to 
capture  Detroit.  This  commission  repotted  to  Congress, 
April  27th,2  and  confirmed  all  the  reports  and  suspicions 
that  led  to  its  appointment.  Defensive  warfare  was  ac 
knowledged  to  be  inadequate  and  an  expedition  to  reduce 
Detroit  was  ordered  on  the  nth  of  June,  and  the  Indians 
along  the  route  were  to  be  compelled  to  sue  for  peace. 
To  facilitate  the  success  of  the  expedition,  and  the  sooner 
to  compel  the  hostile  tribes  to  cease  their  war  on  the 
frontier,  another  expedition  was  to  be  organized  at  Albany 
to  chastise  "that  insolent  and  revengeful  nation,"  the 
Senecas.  About  the  same  time,  General  Hand,  to  undo 
the  mischief  done  by  McKee,  Elliott  and  Girty  among  the 
Delawares  and  Shawanese  around  Fort  Pitt,  held  a  con 
ference  with  these  nations.  That  he  was  partially  suc 
cessful  was  proven  by  the  fact  that  so  few  Delawares  had 


1  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  3,  p.  409. 

2  Jonrnals  of  Congress,  vol.  4,  p.  244. 


84        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

come  to  Hamilton's  council  at  Detroit.  With  the  Sha- 
wanese,  he  could  do  but  little.  The  three  renegades,  "of 
that  horrid  brood  called  refugees,  whom  the  devil  has 
long  since  marked  as  his  own,"1  had  been  quite  success 
ful  with  these,  as  they  had  serious  grievances.2 

It  was  well  that  Congress  made  this  change  of  policy, 
from  defensive  to  offensive  warfare,  for  the  Indians  had 
come  into  Westmoreland  county  as  early  as  April,3  at 
tacked  a  company  of  rangers,  killed  nine  of  them,  wounded 
the  captain  and  took  nine  guns.  It  was  a  larger  body  of 
Indians  than  had  ever  before  appeared  at  once  and  their 
attack  was  much  more  vigorous.  Lieutenant  L,ochry  pre 
dicted  a  general  evacuation  of  all  the  posts  except  Fort 
Pitt,  with  the  next  appearance  of  such  a  body  of  the 
enemy.  General  Hand,  having  been  recalled  by  his  own 
request,  was  succeeded,  at  the  suggestion  of  General 
Washington,  by  General  Lochlin  Mclntosh,  of  the  Georgia 
Line,4  a  soldier  with  whom  Washington  parted  at  Valley 
Forge  with  much  reluctance,  as  his  services  were  sorely 
needed  there.  Mclntosh  did  not  arrive  at  Fort  Pitt  until 
early  in  August ;  so  Congress  resolved  that  the  expedition 
to  Detroit  should  be  deferred  for  the  present,  but  that  he 
should  proceed  to  destroy  some  of  the  Indian  towns  west 
of  the  Ohio.  But  this  order  did  not  change  his  purpose. 5 
It  seems  that  Congress  did  not  consider  the  army  he  could 
raise  strong  enough  to  undertake  the  reduction  of  Detroit. 
Before  the  expedition  was  planned,  Washington  had 
ordered  the  Eighth  Pennsylvania  to  the  assistance  of 
General  Hand.  This  regiment  consisted  of  seven  com 
panies  from  Westmoreland  and  one  from  Bedford,  and 


1  History  of  Allegheny  county,  p.  84. 

2  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  14. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  495. 

4  Washing-ton-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  20. 

5  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  12,  p.  118. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.  85 

numbered  in  1778  about  340  men.1  It  was  raised  for  the 
defense  of  the  Western  frontier  by  a  resolution  of  Con 
gress,  passed  July  i5th,  1776. 2  But  it  was  needed  "be 
low"  soon  afterwards,  and  in  November,  received  orders 
to  join  Washington  in  New  Jersey,  or  wherever  he  might 
be.3  One  of  the  men  wrote  at  the  time  : 

"I/ast  Evening,  We  Received  Marching1  orders,  Which  I 
must  say  is  not  disagreeable  to  me  under  ye  Sircumstances  of 
ye  times,  for  when  I  entered  into  ye  Service  I  judged  that  if  a 
necessity  appeared  to  call  us  Below,  it  would  be  Don,  therefore 
it  Dont  come  on  me  By  Surprise  ;  But  as  Both  ye  officers  and 
Men  understood  they  Ware  Raised  for  ye  Defence  of  ye  West 
ern  Frontiers,  and  their  famelys  and  substance  to  be  L*eft  in 
so  Defenceless  a  situation  in  their  abstence,  seems  to  give  Sen- 
sable  trouble,  altho  I  Hope  We  Will  Get  over  it.  ...  We  are 
ill  Provided  for  a  March  at  this  season,  But  there  is  nothing 
Hard  under  some  Sircumstance.  We  Hope  Provisions  will  be 
made  for  us  Below.  Blankets,  Campe  Kittles,  tents,  arms, 
Regementals,  etc.,  that  we  may  not  Cut  a  Dispisable  Figure, 
But  may  be  Enabled  to  answer  ye  expectation  of  ower  Coun- 
tre." 

The  commander  of  the  regiment  at  the  time  of  its  re 
turn  to  the  irontier  was  Colonel  David  Brodhead.  He 
was  a  native  of  New  York,  but  his  father  removed  to  a 
place  in  Northampton  county,  now  East  Stroudsburg, 
Monroe  county.  David  was  twenty  when  the  French 
war  commenced,  and  probably  received  his  first  lesson  in 
border  warfare  when  the  Indians  attacked  his  house,  in 
1755.  In  1771,  he  removed  to  Reading,  and  became  a 
surveyor.  His  first  duty  performed  in  the  Revolution 
was  that  of  delegate  to  the  Provincial  Convention,  in 
1775.  The  next  year  he  joined  the  Continental  army  as 
lieutenant  colonel.  After  the  war  he  held  the  office  of 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  635. 

2  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  1,  pp.  411-419. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  2nd  serieB,  vol.  10,  p.  641. 


86        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

Surveyor  General  of  the  State  for  eleven  years,  and  died 
at  Milford,  Pike  county,  iSog.1 

The  advance  of  Colonel  Brodhead's  regiment  towards 
Pittsburg  began  in  June,  but  the  march  was  interrupted 
by  a  detour  up  the  Susquehanna  to  check  the  savages  who 
were  ravaging  the  West  Branch  and  the  Wyoming  Val 
ley.  The  command  did  not  arrive  at  Fort  Pitt  before 
September.  Previously  to  Brodhead's  "late  arrival," 
General  Mclntosh  had  been  reinforced  by  the  i3th  Vir 
ginia,  likewise  recruited  on  the  frontier  and  sent  back 
from  Valley  Forge.  But  his  entire  force  available  for  the 
expedition,  including  the  militia,  was  only  about  1,300 
men.  He  had  tried  hard  to  have  more.  He  resolved  to 
break  up  the  numerous  small  forts,  which  General  Hand 
had  been  obliged  to  garrison,  because  his  chief  depend 
ence  was  on  the  militia.  These  forts  <(  were  frequently 
altered,  kept  or  evacuated,  according  to  the  humors,  fears 
or  interests  of  the  people  of  most  influence,"  2  and  re 
quired  a  large  body  of  militia  to  defend  them.  Mclntosh 
also  abandoned  the  numerous  store-houses  throughout 
the  border  counties,  and  built  one  general  store-house  in 
the  fork  of  the  Monongahela  river,  where  all  loads  from 
across  the  mountains  could  be  discharged  without  cross 
ing  any  large  streams.  By  this  measure,  the  men  that  had 
guarded  the  stores  became  available  for  active  duty.  To 
guard  the  frontiers  in  his  absence,  he  authorized  the  Lieu 
tenants  of  Westmoreland  and  of  several  counties  of  Vir 
ginia,  to  organize  a  few  companies  of  rangers  ;  and  to 
garrison  the  few  remaining  forts — Pitt,  Hand  and  Ran 
dolph — he  raised  independent  companies.  Through  the 
efforts,  also,  of  a  Congressional  commission,  consisting  of 
two  gentlemen  from  Virginia  and  one  from  Pennsylva- 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  "2nd  series,  vol.10,  p.  645. 

2  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  24. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.  87 

nia,1  the  greater  part  of  the  Delaware  nation  was  made  a 
close  ally  of  the  United  States,  and  "  the  hatchet  placed 
into  their  hands."  They  promised  to  furnish  their  best 
and  most  expert  warriors,  and  a  levy  for  two  captains  and 
sixty  braves  was  afterwards  made  upon  the  nation. 
Probably  the  most  important  concession  from  them  was 
the  consent  to  march  an  army  across  their  territory.2 

All  these  preparations  being  made,  General  Mclntosh 
opened  a  road  to  the  Beaver,  and  erected  a  post  with  bar 
racks  and  stores,  upon  the  present  site  of  Beaver.  It  was 
called  Fort  Mclntosh,  and  was  built  of  strong  stockades, 
furnished  with  bastions,  mounting  one  six-pounder  each, 
and  large  enough  for  a  whole  regiment.3  Early  in  Octo 
ber,  the  headquarters  of  the  army  were  removed  from  Fort 
Pitt  to  the  new  fort ;  but  a  forward  movement  into  the 
Indian  country  was  retarded  by  a  want  of  supplies.  A 
month  later,  cattle  from  over  the  mountains  arrived,  but 
they  were  poor  and  could  not  be  killed  for  want  of  salt, 
which  then  cost  $20  a  bushel  at  Fort  Pitt.4  Being  now 
reproached  by  the  Delawares  for  his  tardiness,  Mclntosh 
ordered  i  ,200  men  to  get  ready  to  march  ;  and  on  the  i6th 
of  November  the  movement  westward  began .  It  required 
the  rest  of  the  month  to  reach  the  Tuscarawas — seventy 
miles  distant  from  Fort  Mclntosh — the  ' '  horses  and  cat 
tle  tiring  every  four  or  five  miles."  Not  meeting  the 
enemy  here  as  he  had  expected,  and  the  supplies  for  the 
winter  not  having  reached  Fort  Mclntosh,  the  General's 
expedition  against  Detroit  had  to  be  abandoned  for  the 
year  1778.  He  erected  Fort  Laurens  on  the  Tuscarawas, 
and  garrisoned  it  with  150  men,  under  command  of  Colo- 


1  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  4,  p.  235. 

2  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  25. 

3  Frontier  Forts,  vol.  2,  p.  488. 
4Washingfton-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  27. 


88        Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

nel  John  Gibson,  the  same  whom  Doctor  Connelly  sought 
to  corrupt  in  1775.  He  was  a  native  of  Lancaster  county. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  accompanied  Forbes'  expedi 
tion,  and  then  settled  at  Fort  Pitt  as  an  Indian  trader. 
He  was  captured  by  the  Indians,  and  saved  from  burning 
at  the  stake  by  an  aged  squaw.  After  remaining  with 
the  Indians  for  a  number  of  years,  he  returned  to  Fort 
Pitt.  He  was  active  in  securing  peace  with  the  Indians 
in  1774,  and  soon  after  was  appointed  colonel  in  a 
Continental  regiment.  He  served  with  the  army  in  New 
York,  and  in  its  retreat  across  the  Jerseys.  After  the 
war  he  was  prominent  in  civil  life  as  a  member  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  1790,  and  judge  of  Alle 
gheny  county.  He  commanded  a  regiment  in  St.  Clair's 
expedition,  and  was  major  general  of  the  militia  during 
the  Whiskey  Insurrection.  In  1800,  Jefferson  appointed 
him  Secretary  of  Indiana  Territory,  and  later  became  its 
acting  Governor. 1 

With  the  remainder  of  his  army,  General  Mclntosh 
returned  to  Fort  Mclntosh,  where  he  disbanded  the  militia 
"precipitately,"  for  they  had  shown  signs  of  mutiny. 
And  no  wonder,  for,  on  the  return,  the  troops  had  to  eat 
roasted  beef-hides  that  had  been  left  to  dry,  so  scarce  were 
the  provisions.  Thirty-six  hides  were  cut  up  and  roasted 
in  one  night.2  The  Eighth  Pennsylvania  was  assigned  to 
Fort  Pitt.  The  residue  were  divided  among  the  principal 
forts,  including  Fort  Mclntosh. 

An  expedition  of  more  consequence,  both  immediate 
and  future,  was  that  of  George  Rogers  Clark.  He  arrived 
at  Fort  Pitt  from  Virginia  early  in  1778,  authorized  by 
Governor  Patrick  Henry  to  enlist  men  for  a  secret  expe 
dition  against  the  Illinois  country.  He  had  sent  spies 


1  History  of  Westmoreland  County,  p.  96. 
7,  Washing'ton-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  28. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.        89 

thither,  and  learned  that  a  number  of  the  British  posts 
were  weakly  garrisoned,  the  troops  having  been  with 
drawn  to  defend  Detroit  and  Niagara  against  the  expedi 
tions  planned  at  Fort  Pitt  and  Albany  in  1777.  Clark 
had  a  hard  winter's  work  in  enlisting  troops  for  his  he 
roic  undertaking,  because  the  backwoodsmen,  ignorant 
of  his  true  design,  were  opposed  to  it.  So  when,  on  May 
1 2th,  he  "set  sail  for  the  falls  "  of  the  Ohio,  on  boats 
built  at  Fort  Redstone,  now  Brownsville,  Fayette  county, 
he  had  only  180  men,  but  they  were  picked  riflemen. 
Though  Clark  and  all  his  men  were  in  the  Virginia  ser 
vice,  some  of  them  were  Pennsylvanians  at  the  time,  and 
many  others  became  such  after  the  settlement  of  the 
boundary.  General  Hand  furnished  Clark  with  every 
necessity  he  wanted.1  The  result  of  the  campaign  was 
the  reduction  of  the  British  posts  between  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  rivers — Kaskaskia,  St.  Phillips,  Vincennes 
and  others.  When  the  treaty  of  peace  was  made,  in  1783, 
these  posts  were  held  by  American  garrisons,  and  the  con 
quest  of  Clark  helped  to  make  the  Mississippi  river  the 
western  boundary  of  the  United  States.  The  expedition 
also  had  a  salutary  effect  on  Indian  depredations,  as  it  re 
sulted  in  the  capture  of  Hamilton  the  following  year. 

On  the  Northumberland  frontier  there  was  scarcely 
any  lull  in  Indian  ravages  in  the  winter  of  1777-1778. 
On  the  first  day  of  the  year,  one  of  the  settlers  was  killed 
and  scalped  two  miles  above  Great  Island,  and  eleven  In 
dians  were  easily  tracked  in  the  snow  and  two  of  them 
killed.2  Colonel  Antes,  who  had  built  Fort  Antes  at  the 
mouth  of  Nippenose  Creek,  and  owned  a  grist  mill  there 
of  great  value  to  the  people,  was  in  command  in  that  sec 
tion.  He  came  down  to  consult  Colonel  Hunter  at  Fort 


1  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  15. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  176. 


90         Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

Augusta,  and  in  consequence  of  the  fright,  the  fifth  class 
of  militia,  which  was  to  join  the  army  at  Valley  Forge, 
was  ordered  to  remain  at  home.  These  and  other  availa 
ble  forces  were  held  in  readiness  for  a  call  to  arms.  After 
the  snow  had  disappeared  in  March,  great  uneasiness 
seized  Northumberland.  There  were  only  two  rifles  and 
sixty  muskets  in  the  public  stores  of  the  county  ;  and  if 
the  sixth  and  seventh  classes  of  militia  would  have  been 
called  out  then,  they  could  not  have  been  armed.1  For 
tunately,  there  was  no  necessity  for  additional  troops. 
When,  about  the  first  of  May,  the  fifth  class  had  served 
their  two  months,  the  sixth  simply  exchanged  places. 
But  now  there  was  a  scarcity  of  meat  and  flour,  and  pro 
visions  had  to  be  forwarded  from  Lancaster  and  Cumber 
land  counties . 2  To  provide  for  this  want  in  some  measure , 
the  people  were  asked  to  preserve  shad  and  barrel  them 
up  for  the  use  of  the  militia. 

News  was  now  received  from  Bedford  and  Westmore 
land  that  the  Indians  had  been  seen  there.  It  needed  no 
confirmation  ;  for  scarcely  had  a  week  passed  when  they 
commenced  to  kill,  scalp  and  carry  off  captives  on  the 
West  Branch,  and  classes  of  militia  from  all  the  battalions 
had  to  be  ordered  out  on  their  respective  tour  of  duty. 
The  Council,  still  in  session  at  Lancaster,  now  acted  with 
energy  and  promptness.  Rifles,  muskets,  powder,  lead, 
flints  and  provisions  were  ordered  for  Northumberland 
from  Northampton  Town  (Allentown),  York  Town,  Car 
lisle  and  Lebanon  ;  and  an  appeal  for  help  was  made  to 
Congress.3  This  body  had  frequently  drawn  on  the  State's 
supplies,  and  it  was  therefore  right  "  to  depend  on  their 
issues  at  this  time."  The  Council  now  felt  certain  that 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  392. 

2  Ibid,  p.  478. 

3  Ibid,  p.  536. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.        91 

the  attack  of  the  savages  was  concerted  by  the  British, 
for  the  employment  of  such  horrid  allies  was  avowed  in 
the  face  of  the  world.  The  Council,  knowing  that  the 
border  warfare  was  made  in  concert  with  the  invaders  of 
the  eastern  side  of  the  State,  felt,  that  Pennsylvania  had  a 
claim  to  be  supported  by  the  force  and  money  of  the  United 
States,  as  had  been  done  lately  for  the  Southern  States. 

By  the  close  of  May,1  Colonel  Hunter  wrote  to  John 
Hambright,  a  leading  citizen  of  Northumberland,  then  a 
member  of  the  Executive  Council  at  Lancaster  : 

"  We  are  really  in  a  Melancholy  situation  in  this  county, 
the  back  inhabitants  have  all  Evacuated  their  habitations  and 
Assembled  in  different  places It  is  really  Distress 
ing-  to  see  the  inhabitants  flying-  away  and  leaving-  their  all, 
Especially  the  Jersey  people,  that  came  up  here  this  last  Win 
ter  and  Spring-,  not  one  stays,  but  sets  off  to  the  Jerseys  ag-ain." 

On  the  second  of  June, 2  he  wrote  to  Vice- President  Bryan 
that  the  people  had  drawn  up  a  petition  to  Congress  for 
relief,  and  would  lay  it  before  the  Council  before  present 
ing  it,  for  approval.  The  next  day3  John  Harris,  the 
founder  of  Harrisburg,  wrote  to  the  Vice-President ,  from 
Paxton,  "  I  pity  my  bleeding  Country,  and  am  willing  to 
assist  the  county  of  Northumberland  by  any  means  in  my 
power."  He  feared  that  unless  something  were  done 
quickly,  the  people  would  all  move  off  and  the  crops  would 
be  lost.  In  a  short  time  afterwards  communication  be 
tween  Antes'  Mill  and  Big  Island  was  cut  off,  and  a  bloody 
slaughter  occurred  at  the  present  site  of  Williamsport,4 
in  which  four  men,  two  women,  one  boy  and  one  girl  were 
killed  and  scalped,  and  five  others  taken  captive.  All 
these  events  were  but  forerunners  of  a  disaster  greater 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  570. 

2  Ibid,  p.  573. 
5  Ibid,  p.  574. 
4  Ibid,  p.  599. 


92         Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

than  any  of  them.  It  would  seem  that  Colonel  Hunter 
had  a  presentiment  of  what  was  soon  to  happen  at  Wyom 
ing  ;  for,  on  the  4th  of  July,  the  day  after  the  massacre, 
and  before  he  knew  of  it,  he  wrote  to  Vice-President 
Bryan,  of  the  Council,  now  again  in  Philadelphia:1 
'  *  Wyoming  will  not  long  be  able  to  oppose  the  rapid  pro 
gress  of  the  enemy  ;  in  that  case  we  cannot  say  where  they 
will  stop,  and  Lancaster  county  must  soon  feel  their  rav 
ages." 

The  massacre  of  Wyoming  was  not  without  its  pre 
monitory  signals.  The  wave  of  joy  which  swept  over  the 
country  after  Burgoyne's  surrender,  and  lifted  it  out  of 
the  despair  of  Brandy  wine  and  Germantown,  struck  this 
beautiful  valley  in  Pennsylvania  with  the  sound  of  a  roar 
ing  breaker.  It  was  feared  that  the  Indians  released  from 
British  service  in  northern  New  York,  and  now  under  no 
restraint  whatever,  would  turn  their  dreaded  arms  upon 
the  frontiers.  And  where  was  there  another  settlement 
so  exposed  to,  and  so  much  hated  by,  the  savages  as 
Wyoming?  Early  in  the  spring  of  1778,  Congress  was 
asked  by  the  settlers  for  troops  to  defend  them  against  the 
expedition  that  was  reported  to  be  organized  against  them 
at  Niagara.2  General  Schuyler  wrote  to  the  Board  of 
War  on  the  condition  of  Wyoming.  Ransom's  and  Dur- 
kee's  independent  companies  in  the  Continental  army 
plead  and  remonstrated  that  their  families,  left  defense 
less,  were  menaced  with  invasion,  and  that  they  should 
be  returned  according  to  the  conditions  of  their  enlist 
ment.  But  all  that  Congress  did,  though  it  had  informa 
tion  of  its  own  to  confirm  these  fears,3  was  to  order  a 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  624. 

2  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  4,  p.  113;  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p. 
371;  Stone's  Life  of  Brandt,  vol.  1,  p.  304. 

3  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  4,  p.  63. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         93 

company  to  be  enlisted  from  among  the  inhabitants,  the 
men  to  find  "  their  own  arms,  accoutrements  and  blan 
kets."  As  in  all  other  sections  of  the  frontier,  men  and 
arms  were  exceedingly  scarce,  for  the  best  of  both  had 
been  drawn  into  the  Continental  service. 

Unlike  their  behavior  on  the  West  Branch,  the  Indians 
committed  no  open  acts  of  hostility  on  the  North  Branch 
until  a  few  days  before  the  massacre.  In  the  month  of 
May,  scouting  parties  were  discovered  some  twenty  miles 
up  the  river,  but  they  were  after  information  rather  than 
scalps.  Soon  after  two  Indians,  once  residents  of  Wyom 
ing,  came  down  with  their  squaws,  pretending  to  be  on  a 
friendly  visit.  By  freely  administering  rum  to  the  vis 
itors,  it  was  learned  that  the  settlement  was  to  be  cut  off 
at  an  early  day.  This  was  the  signal  for  defense.  Steps 
were  taken  to  form  the  company  authorized  by  Congress  ; 
the  people  in  the  outer  settlements  fled  to  the  forts,  and 
letters  were  dispatched  in  great  haste  to  the  men  in  the 
Continental  army,  calling  upon  them  to  come  home.  On 
hearing  this  news,  every  commissioned  officer,  but  two, 
resigned,  and  more  than  twenty-five  men,  with  or  without 
leave,  left  the  ranks  and  hastened  to  the  Valley.1  Con 
gress  was  now  obliged  to  act.  On  the  23rd  of  June — 
only  one  week  before  the  arrival  of  the  Indians  2 — the 
Westmoreland  companies,  numbering  then  only  86  men, 
were  ' '  detached  from  the  main  army  for  the  defense  of  the 
frontiers." 

The  enemy's  preparation  at  Tioga  Point  to  descend 
the  river  at  the  time  of  the  "  June  fresh,"  was  now  well 
known.  The  Indians  were  no  longer  anxious  to  conceal 
their  plot  from  the  people  of  Wyoming  ;  for  they  felt  sure 
of  their  victims.  The  wise  men  of  Congress  had  been 


1  Miner's  History  of  Wyoming1,  p.  215.  4 

2  Journals  of  Congr ress,  vol.  4,  p.  263. 


94        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

outwitted  by  the  simple  savage  of  the  forest.  While  the 
Wyoming  massacre  was  planning  at  Tioga  Point,  Seneca 
chiefs  were  in  Philadelphia,  ostensibly  to  negotiate  a 
treaty,  but  in  reality  to  deceive  and  prevent  aid  to  Wyom 
ing.  Nor  did  they  leave  until  the  fatal  blow  had  been 
struck.1  On  the  evening  of  the  29th  of  June,  or  the  morn 
ing  of  the  3oth,2  the  enemy,  consisting  of  400  British  pro 
vincials,  including  many  Tories  from  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey  and  New  York,  and  600  or  700  Indians,  some  of 
whom  had  come  from  Detroit,  entered  the  Valley  of 
Wyoming,  near  its  northern  extremity,  through  a  gap  of 
the  mountain .  They  were  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
John  Butler,  of  Niagara.3  Whether  Brandt  commanded 
the  Indians  is  a  disputed  question.4  The  invaders  took 
two  small  forts  without  opposition.  In  this  they  were 
aided  by  Tories  residing  in  that  neighborhood.  One  of 
the  forts  was  burned,  and  several  people  were  killed  and 
taken  captive. 

When  the  inhabitants  below  learned  of  the  approach 
of  the  British  and  Indians,  they  assembled  in  Forty  Fort, 
so  called  from  the  circumstance  that,  at  one  time  in  the 
previous  troubles  of  the  settlement,  it  was  occupied  by 
forty  men.  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  then  at  home  from 
the  army,  assumed  command.  The  women  and  children 
were  ordered  into  the  various  forts  of  the  Valley.  The 
militia — some  three  hundred — were  hastily  mobilized, 
and  with  these  Colonel  Butler  marched  up  the  Valley  to 
meet  the  enemy,  and  soon  met  a  party  of  Indian  scouts, 
who  had  just  murdered  some  settlers  engaged  at  work  in 
a  field.  After  killing  two  of  these  advanced  guards,  his 


1  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  4,  p.  285. 

2  Miner's  History  of  Wyoming-,  p.  217. 

3  Stone's  L,ife  of  Brandt,  vol.  1,  p.  339. 

4  Winsor's  Hand-Book  of  the  American  Revolution,  p.  192. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         95 

command  had  to  fall  back  on  Forty  Fort  for  want  of  sup 
plies. 

On  the  3rd  of  July,  a  council  of  war  was  convened  at 
Forty  Fort,  for  a  request  to  surrender  had  been  made 
twice  already  by  the  British  commander.  There  was 
some  hesitancy  about  taking  the  offensive  just  then,  as 
reinforcements  were  expected.  But  as  there  was  so  little 
hope  of  succor  now,  the  column  of  about  three  hundred 
men,  old  men  and  boys,  marched  from  the  fort.  They 
had  gone  but  a  short  distance  when  the  three  officers  who 
had  resigned  from  the  regular  army  rode  breathless  and 
exhausted  into  Forty  Fort.  The  privates  who  had  started 
with  them  were  still  about  forty  miles  off.  Having 
snatched  a  morsel  of  food,  they  followed  their  gallant  com 
mander.1  It  was  evident  now  that  he  had  to  depend  on 
his  militia  alone.  When  he  met  the  enemy,  their  line 
was  formed  (<  a  small  distance  in  from  their  camp,  on  a 
plain  thinly  covered  with  pine,  shrub- oaks  and  under 
growth,  and  extending  from  the  river  to  a  marsh  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountains . ' '  He  formed  a  line  of  equal  length , 
and  the  battle  commenced.  The  militia  bore  up  well  at 
first  ;  but,  unfortunately,  the  Indian  commander — Biandt 
possibly — marching  through  the  marsh,  turned  their  left 
flank,  commanded  by  Colonel  Dennison.  The  latter  or 
dered  his  men  to  (<  fall  back  "  to  avoid  capture  and  to  re 
form.  They  mistook  his  order  for  a  "  retreat,"  and  the 
whole  line  took  flight.  Colonel  Butler  rode  up  and  down 
the  line,  calling  to  the  boys  not  to  leave  him.  But  it  was 
too  late. 

The  battle  being  ended,  the  massacre  began.  The 
Indians  threw  away  their  rifles,  rushed  forward  with  their 
tomahawks,  making  dreadful  havoc,  answering  cries  for 


1  Miner's  History  of  Wyoming,  p.  221. 


96        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

mercy  with  the  hatchet.  Less  than  sixty  of  the  Spartan 
band  escaped  either  the  rifle  or  the  tomahawk.  Twenty- 
three  officers  fell,  most  of  whom  while  trying  to  rally  the 
men  when  the  retreat  began.  Durkee  and  Ransom,  the 
veteran  captains  of  the  L,ine ,  were  among  the  dead .  Some 
of  the  fugitives  escaped  by  swimming  the  river  and  flee 
ing  to  the  mountains  ;  and  when  the  news  reached  the 
lower  part  of  the  Valley,  most  of  the  women  and  children 
likewise  fled  to  the  mountains.  Those  who  could  not 
make  their  escape,  sought  refuge  in  Fort  Wyoming.  The 
Indians,  whose  desire  for  blood  had  been  satiated,  pro 
ceeded  after  the  battle  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  hunger 
by  plundering  kitchens  and  pantries.  On  the  morning  of 
the  4th,  Colonel  John  Butler  demanded  the  surrender  of 
Fort  Wyoming.  There  was  not  much  disposition  to  re 
fuse  the  demand,  for  everybody  in  the  Valley  that  could 
get  away  was  on  the  flight  to  the  Wind  Gap  and  Strouds- 
burg,  some  of  them  making  their  way  to  old  Connecticut. 
The  fugitives  endured  untold  hardships,  especially  those 
who  passed  through  the  "  Dismal  Swamp,"  which  from 
that  time  on  has  been  known  as  the  "  Shades  of  Death." 
Some  died  of  wounds  ;  others  perished  from  hunger ;  sev 
eral  children  were  born  in  the  wilderness  ;  families  were 
broken  up,  and  in  some  cases  they  never  saw  one  another 
again.  But  it  does  not  appear  that  anything  like  a  massa 
cre  followed  the  capitulation. 

This  step  was  now  promptly  taken.  But  as  Colonel 
John  Butler  insisted  on  an  unconditional  surrender  of 
Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  with  the  fourteen  Continental 
soldiers  remaining,  the  heroic  leader  of  the  men  of  Wy 
oming  escaped  in  the  night  and  left  Colonel  Dennison  of 
the  militia  to  make  terms.  These  stipulated  that  the  set 
tlers  should  be  disarmed,  their  garrison  demolished,  but 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         97 

their  lives  and  property  preserved.  The  losses  of  the 
Tories  were  to  be  made  good.  To  prevent  further  atro 
cities  by  the  Indians,  all  the  whiskey  near  Forty  Fort  was 
emptied  into  the  river.  But  they  were  so  jubilant  after 
the  Yankees  had  marched  out  of  the  fort  that  they  began 
to  plunder  the  settlers'  homes  far  and  wide.  Colonel 
Butler  confessed  that  he  could  do  nothing  with  the  sav 
ages  after  such  a  victory.  The  only  remedy  he  had  was 
to  withdraw  from  the  valley,  which  he  did  on  the  8th  of 
July.1  His  part  in  this  horrible  affair  was  far  less  open 
to  reproach  than  that  of  the  Government  of  Great  Britain, 
which  employed  the  demons  under  his  command.  Even 
the  Tories  of  Wyoming  were  more  reprehensible  than  he. 
Such  was  Colonel  Hunter's  presentiment,  if  presenti 
ment  it  was.  As  the  report  of  the  massacre  passed  down 
the  North  Branch  and  spread  up  the  valley  of  the  West 
Branch,  it  caused  a  wild,  precipitate  flight,  known  as  the 
"Great  Runaway."  On  the  gth  of  July,2  Colonel  Hunt 
er's  pen  was  not  equal  to  describe  the  situation  in  North 
umberland.  From  all  appearances,  he  felt  sure  that  the 
towns  of  Northumberland  and  Sunbury  would  be  the 
frontier  in  less  than  a  day.  That  their  inhabitants  would 
make  a  stand,  he  felt  sure,  but  how  long  they  could  hold 
out,  was  a  question.  Should  they  fail  for  want  of  assist 
ance,  the  neighboring  counties  could  find  no  excuse  for 
their  "breach  of  brotherly  love,  charity,  and  every  virtue 
which  adorns  and  advances  the  human  species  above  the 
brute  creation."  This  stirring  appeal  he  made  to  the 
militia  of  Berks  county .  Soon  other  letters  were  written 
— from  Paxtang,  Hurnmelstown,  Carlisle  and  Lancaster — 
all  reporting  the  calamities  of  the  twin  branches  of  the 
Susquehanna.  Wm.  McClay,  afterwards  one  of  the  first 

1  Miner's  History  of  Wyoming,  p.  235. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  631. 


98        Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

United  States  senators  from  Pennsylvania,  who  was  then 
a  resident  at  Sunbury,  wrote  to  the  Executive  Council  in 
a  most  pitiful  tone  * 

"I  left  Sunbury,  and  almost  ray  whole  property  on  Wednes 
day  last.  I  never  in  my  life  saw  such  scenes  of  distress.  The 
river  and  the  roads  leading  down  were  covered  with  men, 
women  and  children,  fleeing1  for  their  lives,  many  without  any 
property  at  all,  and  none  who  had  not  left  the  greater  part  be 
hind.  In  short,  Northumberland  county  is  broken  up.  Colonel 
Hunter  alone  remained  using  his  utmost  endeavors  to  rally 
some  of  the  inhabitants,  and  to  make  a  stand,  however  short, 
against  the  enemy.  I  left  him  with  very  few,  probably  not 
more  than  a  hundred  men  on  whom  he  can  depend.  Wyoming 
is  totally  abandoned.  Scarce  a  family  remained  between  that 
place  and  Sunbury,  when  I  came  away.  The  panic  and  flight 
has  reached  to  this  place  (Paxtang).  Many  have  moved  even 
out  of  this  township.  .  .  .  For  God's  sake,  for  the  sake  of  the 
county,  let  Colonel  Hunter  be  re-inforced  at  Sunbury.  Send 
him  but  a  single  company,  if  you  cannot  do  more.  .  .  .  The 
miserable  example  of  the  Wyoming  people,  who  have  come 
down  absolutely  naked  among  us,  has  operated  strongly,  and 
the  cry  has  been,  'L/et  us  move  while  we  may,  and  let  us  carry 
some  of  our  effects  along  with  us.'  .  .  .  Something  ought  to 
be  done  for  the  many  miserable  objects  that  crowd  the  banks 
of  this  river,  especially  those  who  fled  from  Wyoming.  They 
are  a  people  you  know,  I  did  not  use  to  love,  but  now  I  most  sin 
cerely  pity  their  distress.  .  .  ." 

Here  is  a  picture  describing  the  scene  near  Lewis- 
burg  :  2 

"I  took  my  family  safely  to  Sunbury,  and  came  back  in  a 
keel-boat  to  secure  my  furniture.  Just  as  I  rounded  a  point 
above  Derrstown  (L/ewisburg),  I  met  the  whole  convoy  from 
the  forts  above.  Such  a  sight  I  never  saw  in  my  life.  Boats, 
canoes,  hog  troughs,  rafts  hastily  made  of  dry  sticks,  every 
sort  of  floating  article  had  been  put  in  requisition  and  were 
crowded  with  women,  children  and  plunder.  Whenever  any 
obstruction  occurred  at  a  shoal  or  ripple,  the  women  would 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  634. 

2  History  of  the  Juniata  and  Susquehanna  Valleys,  vol.  1,  p.  108. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         99 

leap  out  into  the  water  and  put  their  shoulders  to  the  boat  or 
raft  and  launch  it  again  into  deep  water.  The  men  came  down 
in  single  file  on  each  side  of  the  river,  to  guard  the  women  and 
children.  The  whole  convoy  arrived  safely  at  Sunbury,  leav 
ing-  the  entire  range  of  farms  on  the  West  Branch  to  the  rav 
ages  of  the  Indians." 

In  answer  to  these  appeals,  Colonel  Brodhead,  who 
was  approaching  the  Standing  Stone  (Huntingdon)  on 
his  way  to  Pittsburg,  was  ordered  to  the  West  Branch 
with  his  regiment.1  He  was  at  Fort  Muncy  by  the  24th 
of  July.  He  sent  a  company  to  Penn's  Valley  to  protect 
the  reapers  while  they  cut  the  grain.  His  arrival  had 
induced  great  numbers  of  the  settlers  to  come  back  and 
garner  their  grain.2  This  was  perilous  work,  for  the  In 
dians  fell  upon  the  soldiers  in  several  instances.  In  spite 
of  these  heroic  efforts  to  save  the  harvests,  the  loss  from 
the  "Great  Runaway"  was  estimated  at  $200,000. 

But  the  Eighth  Regiment  was  under  orders  to  go  to 
Fort  Pitt,  and  its  good  work  of  restoring  confidence  had 
to  be  handed  over  to  others.  As  the  murdering,  pillaging 
and  burning  did  not  stop  in  the  West  Branch  valley, 
Colonel  Thomas  Hartley's  regulars  from  New  Jersey,  and 
a  body  of  militia  from  the  neighboring  counties,  came 
none  too  soon.  He  was  at  Sunbury  by  the  first  of  Au 
gust,  and  at  Muncy  by  the  eighth.  His  men  continued 
to  do  duty  as  guards  in  the  harvest  fields,  and  soon  en 
countered  the  savages  with  the  same  deadly  results  that 
were  experienced  by  Brodhead's  troops.3  Thomas  Hart 
ley  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Berks  county.4  He  studied  law 
and  practiced  at  York  when  the  Revolution  began.  He 
now  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  councils  of  York  county 
and  joined  the  army  in  December,  1775,  as  Lieutenant 

1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  635. 

2  Ibid,  p.  660. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  689. 

4  Penna.  and  the  Federal  Constitution,  pp.  733-734. 


100      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

Colonel.  In  the  battles  of  Brandy  wine  and  Germantown, 
he  commanded  the  Pennsylvania  brigade.  Having  been 
chosen  to  the  Assembly,  he  resigned  his  command  in 
1779,  and  Congress  bore  testimony  of  the  "high  sense  of 
Colonel  Hartley's  merit  and  services. "  He  served  on  the 
Council  of  Censors  in  1783,  gave  his  vote  in  the  Pennsyl 
vania  Convention  for  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  was  a 
member  of  Congress  under  it  until  he  died  in  York,  1800. 
In  September,  Colonel  Hartley  planned  an  expedition 
up  the  West  Branch  and  to  Tioga  (Athens),  to  destroy 
some  of  the  villages  of  the  Indians,  and  break  up  their 
places  of  rendezvous .  Though  the  people  had  come  back , 
the  savages  were  still  very  troublesome.  Among  those 
murdered  in  the  harvest  fields  since  Hartley's  arrival  was 
the  young  hero,  James  Brady,  son  oi  Captain  John  Brady, 
and  brother  of  Sam,  the  scout.  The  force  under  Hart 
ley  now  numbered  600  militia  and  100  regulars  ;  but  as 
he  had  to  give  ample  protection  to  the  settlers  during  his 
absence,  there  were  only  about  200  men  at  his  disposal 
for  the  expedition.  His  route,  beginning  at  Muncy,  was 
up  L,ycoming  creek,  and  thence  down  Towanda  creek  to 
the  North  Branch.  The  march  began  at  4  A.  M.  ,  Septem 
ber  2ist.  Rains,  swamps,  mountains,  defiles  and  rocks 
impeded  the  march.  The  men  swam  or  waded  the  L,ycom- 
ing  upwards  of  twenty  times — about  as  often  as  the  rail 
road  now  crosses  it.  Colonel  Hartley,  in  his  report  to 
Congress,1  said  that  "  the  Difficulties  in  Crossing  the  Alps 
or  passing  up  Kennipeck  could  not  have  been  greater." 
He  found  the  haunts  and  lurking  places  of  the  savage 
murderers  who  had  desolated  the  frontiers,  and  saw  the 
huts  where  they  had  dressed  and  dried  the  scalps  of  women 
and  children.  On  the  morning  of  the  26th,  the  expedi- 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7,  p.  5. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         101 

tion  met  a  party  of  Indians  and  killed  the  chief.  A  few 
miles  farther  on,  they  came  upon  a  camp  where  seventy 
Indians  had  slept  the  night  before.  These  all  had  fled, 
and  the  way  to  Tioga  was  opened.  This  town — Queen 
Ksther's  Town — was  burned  and  all  the  villages  about. 
If  she  was  at  Wyoming,  as  some  historians  claim,  like  a 
chafed  tigress,  the  retribution  which  tradition  says  over 
took  her  in  Sullivan's  expedition  the  next  year,1  must 
have  begun  now.  On  the  28th,  Hartley  crossed  the  river 
and  marched  towards  Wyalusing,  in  the  North  Branch 
Valley.  Here  seventy  of  the  men,  "  from  real  or  pre 
tended  lameness,"  went  into  the  boats  ;  others  rode  on 
the  empty  pack-horses;  and  only  about  120  men  fell  in 
the  line  of  march.  They  were  attacked  once  or  twice  by 
the  Indians,  but  succeeded  in  killing  ten  of  them,  with  a 
loss  to  themselves  of  "four  killed  and  ten  wounded." 
There  was  no  further  trouble  encountered  on  the  march, 
and  the  expedition  arrived  at  Wyoming  in  good  spirits. 
Here  Hartley  left  half  his  force,  and  did  all  he  could  for 
the  good  of  the  settlement  ;  but  he  asked  Congress  for  a 
regiment  of  the  Continental  Line  to  march  there  ;  but  his 
advice  was  not  heeded.  The  expedition  returned  to  Sun- 
bury  October  5th,  having  performed  a  circuit  of  nearly 
300  miles  in  two  weeks.  The  Executive  Council  passed 
a  vote  of  thanks  for  the  "  brave  and  prudent  conduct  "  of 
Colonel  Hartley  and  his  men,  in  repelling  the  savages 
and  other  enemies  from  the  frontiers.2 

Colonel  Hartley  remained  on  the  North  Branch  till 
the  close  of  the  year  ;  but  he  had  to  contend  with  a  scar 
city  of  troops.  The  volunteers  refused  to  do  duty  longer, 
unless  the  bounty  offered  them  when  they  enlisted  were 
paid.  Some  of  the  men  had  paid  as  high  as  thirty  pounds 

1  Stone's  Life  of  Brandt,  vol.  1,  p.  340. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7,  p.  81. 


102      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

for  their  trusty  rifles  and  they  now  insisted  on  being  re 
imbursed.  The  Indians,  too,  continued  to  harass  the  set 
tlers  ;  especially  in  November,  when  a  number  of  murders 
were  committed  at  Fort  Freeland.  It  was,  therefore, 
with  deep  regret  that  the  people  of  Northumberland  saw 
Colonel  Hartley  depart  for  another  field  of  duty  ;  though 
he  left  his  one  hundred  regulars  with  them.  He  had 
done  more  for  them  than  had  ever  been  done  before. 
Their  outlook  for  the  winter  was  dark  indeed.  Grain  was 
so  dear  that  the  poor,  and  they  were  now  in  the  majority, 
could  not  buy  it.  For  the  high  price  of  grain,  the 
monopolizers  and  the  forestallers  were  to  blame.  They 
were  looked  upon  as  worse  enemies  than  the  Indians  or 
the  British.1 

The  border  war  of  1778  reached  even  the  frontiers  of 
Northampton  county.  Shortly  after  Colonel  Butler  fell 
upon  Wyoming,  news  reached  Fort  Penn  that  a  company 
of  Tories  and  Indians  had  arrived  in  the  county  above  the 
Minisinks  and  were  massacreing  "all  men,  women  and 
children,  even  those  who  had  been  captured  by  them  be 
fore  and  dismissed  by  them  with  certain  badges  of  dis 
tinction  . "  2  Jacob  Stroud  begged  for  aid  from  the  Lieu 
tenant  of  the  county,  as  the  settlement  at  Fort  Penn  was 
only  about  sixty  men  strong  then.  Happily  the  danger 
passed  by.  But  the  Indians  were  a  constant  menace  to 
the  Delaware  Valley  above  the  Blue  Mountains.  Many 
of  the  people  fled  to  New  Jersey  ;  the  militia  that  had 
been  called  out  in  July,  had  served  their  time  ;  and  so  in 
October,3  Colonel  Stroud  wrote  again  for  help.  He  told 
the  Council  that  the  Tories  were  most  to  blame  for  the 
unhappy  situation.  These  had  their  families,  relatives 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7,  p.  117. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  651. 

3  Ibid,  vol.  7,  p.  63. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         103 

and  correspondents  in  the  settlements,  and  knew  just 
where  and  when  to  strike  at  them  through  their  savage 
tools.  The  people  of  Northampton  were  not  as  safe  now 
as  they  were  while  Wyoming  formed  a  barrier  to  the  north. 
This  increased  danger  of  Indian  ravages  was  likewise  duly 
emphasized  in  the  appeal  for  aid.  But  in  Northampton, 
as  elsewhere  on  the  frontiers,  help  seldom  came  until  after 
the  interior  counties  themselves  were  in  danger  of  attack. 
This  was,  no  doubt,  partly  due  to  indifference,  but  mostly 
to  the  constant  drainage  of  men  and  means  for  the  Conti 
nental  army.  Then,  too,  the  jealousy  between  North 
ampton  and  Northumberland  on  the  one  hand,  and  Wy 
oming  on  the  other,  as  well  as  between  the  Westmore- 
landers  and  the  Virginians,  had  much  to  do  with  a  lack 
of  prompt  and  united  action  against  the  savages.  In  a 
letter  witten  by  a  gentlemen  from  Baston  to  Vice- Presi 
dent  Bryan,1  a  month  after  the  Wyoming  massacre,  he 
says  : 

"But  as  the  late  great  settlement  at  Wyoming-  is  now  de 
stroyed,  ...  an  important  question  will  arise,  wherein  the 
interest  and  peace  of  the  several  states  may  be  involved.  How 
far  encouragement  or  even  permission  for  the  settlement  of 
that  country  again,  should  be  allowed  by  any  states,  collect 
ively  or  disjunctively,  under  color  of  making-  settlements,  or 
regaining-  possession  of  lands  upon  any  particular  claim  or 
right." 

It  will  be  remembered,  too,  what  Wm.  McClay  wrote 
about  the  people  of  Wyoming  at  the  time  of  the  ' '  Big 
Runaway."  (See  p.  98). 

When  the  year  1779  opened,  not  much  had  been  accom 
plished  in  the  way  of  carrying  the  border  war  into  the 
Indian  country.  Colonel  Gibson,  at  Fort  Laurens,  occu 
pied  the  most  advanced  point  reached.  However,  his 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  6,  p.  720. 


104      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

presence  in  the  Indian  country  did  not  prevent  the 
treacherous  Delawares  and  Mingoes  under  Simon  Girty, 
from  killing  some  of  the  soldiers  who  had  brought  him 
supplies  from  Fort  Pitt.  "A  party  from  the  fort  had  gone 
out  for  wood,  and  they  were  all  killed  in  sight  of  the  fort 
except  two  who  were  made  captives.  These  things  hap 
pened  in  January.  Becoming  emboldened,  the  savages 
next  besieged  the  fort,  and  only  withdrew  because  their 
own  supplies  gave  out.  Before  they  had  left,  a  messenger 
managed  to  steal  through  their  lines  and  informed  General 
Mclntosh  at  Fort  Pitt  of  the  critical  situation  at  Fort 
Laurens.  He  quickly  raised  a  force  of  200  militia  west 
of  the  mountains,  and  with  these  and  the  Continental 
troops  at  Fort  Pitt,  he  set  out  for  Fort  Laurens  and  ar 
rived  there  on  the  23rd  of  March  to  find  the  enemy  gone  ; 
but  a  salute  fired  by  the  garrison  frightened  the  pack 
horses,  causing  them  to  break  loose,  and  scatter  the  pro 
visions  in  the  forest.  This  was  a  severe  loss.  The  men 
in  the  fort  had  subsisted  on  raw  hides  and  roots  for  nearly 
a  week.  Mclntosh  had  planned  to  march  to  Sandusky 
and  destroy  the  towns  of  the  Wyandots  ;  but  the  ground 
being  wet  and  provisions  scarce,  he  had  to  abandon  the 
project  and  return  to  Fort  Mclntosh,  leaving  a  small  gar 
rison  at  Fort  Laurens.1 

The  Georgia  General  had  previously  asked  to  be  re 
lieved  of  the  command  of  the  Western  department,2  and 
General  Washington  designated  Colonel  Brodhead  to  suc 
ceed  him.  Colonel  Lochry,  May  i,8  wrote  to  President 
Reed,  that  not  less  than  forty  people  had  been  killed, 
wounded  and  captured  that  spring,  and  that  the  enemy 
had  killed  people  within  three  hundred  yards  off  Hannas- 


1  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  31-33. 

2  Journals  of  Congress,  February  20th,  1779. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7,  p.  362- 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       105 

town.  They  had  come  in  such  large  numbers  that  it 
seemed  useless  to  make  a  stand  against  them.  This  was 
the  time  when  the  distracted  frontiersmen  expressed  their 
desire  for  a  scalp  law.  They  were  raising  volunteers  to 
be  added  to  some  militia  from  York,  Cumberland  and 
Lancaster  counties  ; x  but  there  were  no  arms,  as  the  In 
dians  had  captured  a  great  number  and  what  were  left 
were  out  of  repairs.  Besides  the  militia  "down  below" 
did  not  come  as  ordered  on  account  of  "the  aversion  of 
the  people  to  such  service."2  This  was  a  common  ex 
cuse  made  by  the  militia  "down  below"  for  not  respond 
ing  to  calls  from  the  frontier. 

From  the  Bedford,  Northumberland  and  Northampton 
frontiers  came  the  same  distressing  news.  Not  far  from 
Frankstown,  now  in  Blair  county,  the  Indians  held  a  ren 
dezvous,  where  they  had  erected  a  dozen  bark  houses,  each 
of  which  would  do  for  three  to  sleep  under. 3  The  people 
in  the  Standing  Stone  Valley  and  Penn's  Valley  were  all  in 
the  forts  as  early  as  May,4  and  reported  that  unless  assisted 
by  guards  they  would  be  obliged  to  leave.  "For  my  own 
part,"  writes  General  James  Potter,  the  holder  of  thou 
sands  of  acres  of  land  in  the  heart  of  Penn's  Valley,  "I 
am  sorry  I  have  not  moved  off  one  year  ago. "  On  April 
ii  occurred  the  death  of  Captain  John  Brady,  near  the 
mouth  of  Muncy  Creek.  He  had  gone  out  of  the  fort 
with  a  team  and  a  guard  to  get  some  provisions  up  the 
stream.  On  their  return,  Brady  remarked  while  passing 
through  a  thicket,  "This  would  be  a  good  place  for  In 
dians  to  secrete  themselves."  That  instant  three  rifles 
cracked  and  Brady  fell  dead.  Rapine  now  followed 
throughout  the  North  Branch,  murder  and  pillage  were 

1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7.  p.  305. 

2  Ibid,  p.  430. 

3  Ibid,  p.  702. 

4  Ibid,  p.  419. 


106       Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

of  daily  occurrence,  fire,  smoke  and  desolation  were  seen 
in  all  directions,  and  it  was  difficult  to  get  the  spring 
crops  in  and  induce  the  people  to  stay  in  the  country.1 
William  McClay  proposed  to  the  Council  the  use  of  dogs 
against  the  savages.  It  seems  that  in  a  few  instances 
they  had  been  employed  with  success  in  hunting  the  In 
dians  ;  yet  he  admitted  that  his  scheme  was  ridiculed. 
He  was  of  the  opinion  that  a  single  troop  of  light  horse, 
attended  by  dogs,  would  destroy  more  Indians  than  5,000 
men  stationed  in  forts.2  On  the  North  Branch  the  sav 
ages  made  their  appearance  at  the  same  time.  Yet  when 
Colonel  Butler  reported  it  to  the  Board  of  War,  one 
of  the  members  said:  "It's  impossible — it  can't  be 
so."  .  .  .  To  quiet  these  disturbances,  General  Wash 
ington,  in  April,  sent  General  Hand  to  take  charge  of  the 
troops  on  the  Susquehanna.  He  took  with  him  what 
was  known  as  the  German  Regiment,  recruited  from  the 
German  counties  in  Pennsylvania.  But  as  it  numbered 
only  about  250  men,3  and  as  the  principal  object  of  his 
command  lay  above  Wyoming,  preparatory  to  Sullivan's 
expedition,  in  August,  not  much  relief  could  be  expected 
by  the  settlements  around  Sunbury.4 

Sullivan's  expedition  was  the  result  of  a  plan  formed 
by  Washington  early  in  the  year.  Congress  had  author 
ized  him,  February  25th,5  "to  take  effectual  measures 
for  the  protection  of  the  inhabitants  and  the  chastisement 
of  the  savages. ' '  The  Commander-in-chief  now  resolved 
to  carry  the  war  into  the  heart  of  the  country  of  the  Six 
Nations,  to  cut  off  their  settlements,  destroy  their  crops, 
and  do  them  every  other  mischief  which  time  and  circum- 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7,  p.  346. 

2  Ibid,  p.  357. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  2nd  series,  vol.  11,  p.  5. 

4  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.7,  p. 321. 

5  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  5,  p.  55. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       107 

stances  will  permit."  *  He  estimated  the  whole  number 
of  warriors  in  the  Six  Nations,  including  the  Tories,  who 
had  joined  them,  at  3,000.  To  these  he  added  what  aid 
they  might  be  able  to  get  from  Canada,  and  the  British 
forts  on  the  frontiers.  To  meet  them,  a  force  of  about 
4,000  would  be  needed,  he  thought.  The  plan  of  cam 
paign  involved  a  combined  movement  of  two  divisions — 
one  from  Pennsylvania  up  the  Susquehanna  to  the  Tioga 
river,  under  General  Sullivan  as  chief  in  command,  and 
one  from  New  York,  under  General  Clinton,  to  form  a 
junction  with  Sullivan.  The  expedition  was  to  be  the 
principal  campaign  of  I779,2  and  the  one  most  promising 
of  success.  General  Gates  was  Washington's  choice  for 
the  command  ;  but  he  declined,  saying  that  the  man  to 
take  it  "  should  enjoy  youth  and  health." 

Washington  had  at  first  also  included  in  his  plan  an 
expedition  under  General  Brodhead  from  Fort  Pitt.  It 
was  to  move  from  Kittanning  up  the  Allegheny,  and  co 
operate  with  Sullivan  as  circumstances  might  permit.  In 
closing  his  instructions  to  Brodhead,  Washington  gives 
us  another  view  into  the  unhappy  divisions  that  still  ex 
isted  at  Fort  Pitt  between  the  Pennsylvanians  and  the 
Virginians.3  It  had  jeopardized  the  success  of  former 
operations  in  that  quarter,  and  Washington  was  therefore 
anxious  that  his  General  should  not  interest  himself  in  it. 
The  same  caution  was  given  by  President  Reed,  about  a 
month  later,  to  Colonel  Hunter,  who  in  this  time  of  com 
mon  danger  was  to  cultivate  harmony  with  the  people  of 
Wyoming,  leaving  the  unhappy  disputes  to  be  settled 
some  other  time. 4  But  the  idea  of  attempting  a  co-opera 
tion  between  the  troops  at  Fort  Pitt  and  the  armies  mov- 

1  Writings  of  Geo.  Washing-ton,  vol.  7,  p.  354. 

2  Ibid,  p.  402. 

3  Ibid,  p.  372. 

4  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7,  p.  317. 


108       Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

ing  from  other  quarters  against  the  Six  Nations  was 
abandoned  in  April.1  Brodhead  was  to  await  the  result 
of  Sullivan's  expedition,  and  in  the  meantime  get  ready 
for  a  similar  enterprise  against  Detroit.  The  commander 
at  Fort  Pitt  first  gave  necessary  relief  to  Fort  L,aurens, 
for  the  post  had  been  subsisting  on  herbs,  salt  and  cow 
hides.  He  sent  out  some  good,  wholesome  food,  and 
plenty  of  strong  whiskey.  But  in  spite  of  all  these  efforts 
to  maintain  a  fort  in  the  Indian  country,  it  had  to  be 
abandoned  in  August ;  for  it  was  once  more  threatened 
by  a  large  force  of  Indians.  It  was  never  again  garri 
soned,  nor  was  it  destroyed  during  the  war.2 

To  give  some  relief  to  the  people  of  Westmoreland  and 
Bedford,  Brodhead  got  permission  from  Washington  to 
conduct  an  expedition  up  the  Allegheny  into  the  country 
of  the  Senecas .  Kittanning  had  previously  been  strength 
ened  by  means  of  Fort  Armstrong  ;  and  Captain  Sam 
Brady,  of  the  Eighth  Pennsylvania,  had  made  a  success 
ful  raid  into  the  country  above.  Captain  Brady  was  the 
son  of  Colonel  John  Brady.  He  was  cradled  among  the 
dangers  of  frontier  life,  passed  through  many  conflicts 
with  the  Indians,  and  had  several  hairbreadth  escapes 
from  death.  He  was  but  nineteen  when  he  entered  the 
army  at  Boston,  and  won  for  himself  a  first  lieutenancy. 
In  1779,  he  was  brevetted  captain  and  ordered  to  join 
General  Brodhead.  He  remained  in  the  service  to  the 
close  of  the  war.  The  Indian  party  whom  Captain  Brady 
followed  from  Kittanning  had  killed  a  soldier,  a  woman 
and  four  children ,  and  taken  two  children  captive.  He 
killed  their  captain,  retook  their  plunder,  and  rescued  the 
two  children.  It  was  this  daring  deed  that  lent  hope  to 
Colonel  Brodhead 's  enterprise.  After  collecting  all  the 

1  Washington's  Writings,  vol.  7,  p.  410. 

2  Washing-ton-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  38. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       109 

available  forces  at  Fort  Pitt — friendly  Delawares,  militia 
and  regulars,  about  600  men  rank  and  file — Brodhead, 
with  Colonel  Gibson  second  in  command,  advanced  on 
the  i  ith  ot  August  up  the  Allegheny.  Above  the  mouth 
of  the  Mahoning,  the  advance  guard  fell  in  with  thirty  or 
forty  warriors,  coming  down  the  river  in  seven  canoes. 
A  sharp  contest  ensued,  which  resulted  in  the  defeat  of 
the  Indians  and  the  capture  of  their  canoes.  The  expe 
dition  then  moved  to  within  four  miles  of  the  State  line, 
but  found  most  of  the  Indian  towns  evacuated.  Brod- 
head's  troops  burned  every  one  of  them,  laid  waste  many 
acres  of  corn ,  and  secured  much  valuable  booty.  Return 
ing,  they  took  the  Venango  road,  and  arrived  at  Fort  Pitt 
September  i4th,  without  the  loss  of  a  man.1  Brodhead 
received  a  vote  of  thanks  from  Congress  for  his  successful 
enterprise.2 

Naturally,  the  success  of  the  expedition  into  the  Seneca 
country  made  the  commander  at  Fort  Pitt  anxious  to  pro 
ceed  against  Detroit.  But  he  had  no  orders  to  that  effect, 
and  could  get  none  ;  3  for  Washington  was  not  able  to 
send  him  the  men  and  supplies  for  such  an  expedition. 
The  fact  was,  that  the  men  already  in  Brodhead 's  com 
mand  were  naked  and  shoeless.  Nor  was  there  any  im 
mediate  necessity  for  the  expedition,  since  the  Western 
frontier  enjoyed  comparative  quiet  the  rest  of  the  year. 
It  seems,  however,  that  the  lull  was  productive  of  a  dis 
pute  between  Colonel  Brodhead  and  the  Lieutenant  of 
Westmoreland  county.  Congress,  in  the  spring,  had  or 
dered  five  companies  of  rangers  to  be  raised  in  the  frontier 
counties — "  good  woodsmen,  and  eager  to  revenge  the 


1  The  Olden  Time,  TO!.  2,  p.  305. 

2  Journal  of  Congress,  vol.  5,  p.  296. 

3  Washing-ton's  Writings,  vol.  8,  p.  150. 


110      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

barbarities  they  had  sustained  from  the  savages."  x  The 
two  companies  from  Westmoreland  went  with  Brodhead's 
expedition,  and  when  he  returned  to  Fort  Pitt  he  kept 
them  there  in  the  barracks.  Lochry  wanted  them  at  Han- 
nastown,  and,  as  the  captain  of  one  of  them  was  his  son- 
in-law,2  the  latter  left  his  post  without  Brodhead's  per 
mission.  Some  of  these  rangers  enlisted  in  the  Eighth 
Pennsylvania,  and  this,  too,  gave  rise  to  a  dispute  between 
these  gentlemen.  Though  the  matter  did  not  amount  to 
much,  yet  it  was  the  beginning  of  more  serious  dissen 
sions  in  the  future.3 

It  seems  that  the  inferior  officers  and  private  soldiers 
at  Fort  Pitt  also  had  difficulties  to  contend  with  at  the 
close  of  the  year.  The  depreciation  of  paper  money  had 
become  a  serious  burden  to  them,  as  well  as  to  the  whole 
country.  Even  the  Indians  would  not  accept  it.  Penn 
sylvania  had  tried  every  remedy  but  the  right  one  to  lessen 
its  evil  effects.  The  only  expedient  that  seemed  natural 
to  adopt  was  to  prohibit  excessive  prices.  Every  town 
ship  and  county  had  its  committee  of  prices,  a  scale  of 
prices  having  been  authorized  and  published  ,  and  a  per 
son  offering  or  giving  an  extravagant  price  was  to  be 
summoned  for  a  hearing.4  But  the  traders  on  the  fron 
tiers  paid  no  attention  to  these  regulations  ;  and  so  the 
officers  of  the  line  and  staff  at  Fort  Pitt  held  a  meeting, 
and  appointed  a  committee  to  investigate  the  regulations 
adopted  "  down  the  country,"  and  thus  force  the  traders 
to  sell  at  the  same  prices,  on  penalty  of  being  expelled 
from  the  country  west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains.5 

The  impossibility  of  an  expedition  against  Detroit, 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7,  p.  664. 

2  Ibid,  vol.  8,  p.  40. 

3  Ibid,  p.  109. 

4  Ibid,  vol.  8,  p.  250. 

5  Pennsylvania  Packet,  June  1st,  1779. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       Ill 

though  a  great  disappointment  to  Brodhead,  is  evident 
from  the  difficulties  that  attended  the  organization  of  Sul 
livan 's.  In  July,1  General  Washington  wrote  to  the 
Executive  Council  that  he  feared  the  troops  requested  of 
Pennsylvania  would  not  be  furnished,  and  entreats  in  the 
most  pressing  terms  that  the  Council  forward  their  quota. 
It  was  not  in  his  power  to  send  a  greater  Continental  force. 
He  had  ' '  stretched  this  string  as  hard  as  it  will  possibly 
bear."  General  Sullivan  had  made  Easton  his  head 
quarters,  and  had  expected  to  march  the  army  for  Wyom 
ing  the  first  week  in  June,2  but  he  did  not  start  until  the 
1 8th.  He  had  to  get  warrants  from  the  Council  to  pro 
cure  wagons  and  horses  ;  for  Pennsylvania  had  a  law  by 
which  wagon-masters  were  appointed  in  each  county, 
subordinate  to  a  wagon-master  general,  who  received  his 
orders  from  the  Executive  Council.3  As  this  was  a  more 
roundabout  method  than  impressment,  there  was  much 
delay  in  getting  the  transportation  train  under  way.  Sul 
livan  procured  a  hundred  wagons  and  teams  in  Bucks  and 
Northampton  counties.  These  were  used  to  haul  the 
stores  to  Middletown  on  the  Susquehanna,  whence  they 
were  to  be  transported  up  the  North  Branch  in  boats. 
The  demand  for  these  wagons  and  boats  had  much  to  do 
with  the  failure  to  raise  the  ranging  companies  intended 
for  Sullivan  ;  for  the  expedition  was  under  the  authority 
of  Congress,  and  the  latter  paid  more  for  the  service  of 
transportation  than  Pennsylvania  offered  for  military  duty . 4 
Having  provided  transportation  for  the  stores,  Sulli 
van  marched  out  of  Easton,  June  i8th,  with  a  force  of 
2,500  men,  but  the  rangers  of  Pennsylvania  had  not  joined 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7,  p.  539. 

2  Ibid,  p.  450. 


3  Ibid!  p!  42?! 

4  Ibid,  p.  458, 


112      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

him,1  nor  were  "  any  about  to  do  it."  On  the  23rd,  the 
army  arrived  at  Wyoming  by  way  of  the  Wind  Gap  and 
the  Pocono  Mountain,  passing  over  the  most  barren  coun 
try  ever  seen  by  a  man  from  the  Granite  State  even.2 
Wyoming's  massacre  was  then  a  year  old,  and  the  story 
of  its  horrors,  the  charred  remains  of  its  houses,  and  the 
two  hundred  and  fifty  widows  of  its  slain  defenders,  nerved 
and  strengthened  the  men  for  the  campaign  before  them. 
A  stay  of  more  than  a  month  was  made  here  to  await  the 
arrival  of  the  provisions  and  the  military  stores.  The 
fleet  that  brought  these  came  up  the  North  Branch,  July 
24th,  134  boats  strong,  and  was  saluted  by  thirteen  guns 
from  the  garrison  at  Wyoming. 

The  British  had  not  failed  to  note  the  movements  of 
this  large  army.  Before  it  left  Wyoming,  attacks  were 
made  by  strong  bodies  of  Indians  and  British  to  the  right 
and  to  the  left  of  it.  To  the  right  of  it,  Captain  Brandt, 
the  Mohawk  Chief,  with  some  60  Indians,  and  30  Tories 
disguised  as  Indians — which  was  a  very  common  practice 
with  the  Loyalists  when  acting  with  the  savages — made 
an  incursion  into  the  Delaware  Valley. 3  Though  the  bat 
tle  that  ensued  occurred  at  Minisink,  in  New  York,  yet 
it  was  just  across  the  border  from  the  Minisinks  in  Penn 
sylvania,  and  many  of  the  fugitives  made  their  escape  to 
the  latter  place.  The  Lieutenant  of  Northampton  county 
at  once  notified  the  Executive  Council,  and  hurriedly  or 
dered  out  the  militia.  The  Council  promptly  forwarded 
powder  and  lead  ;  but  the  militia  was  slow  to  respond. 
Colonel  Stroud,  of  Fort  Penn,  was  expected  to  defend  the 
settlements  above  the  Delaware  Water  Gap.  But  the 
Lieutenant  of  Northampton  county  failed  to  supply  him 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7,  p.  568. 

2  General  Sullivan's  Indian  Expedition,  p.  181. 

3  Stone's  Life  of  Brandt,  vol.  1,  p.  415. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       113 

with  troops.  So  he  took  steps  of  his  own  to  collect  sol 
diers,  and  then  came  a  clash,  which  had  to  be  investigated 
by  the  Executive  Council.1  The  trouble  was  the  same 
as  elsewhere — the  people  not  immediately  exposed  to  the 
attacks  of  the  Indians  thought  themselves  safe,  and  did 
not  answer  the  call  as  they  should  have  done.  President 
Reed,  however,  lost  none  of  his  faith  in  the  militia.  He 
said,  "  It  was  to  this  force,  and  not  to  standing  troops  or 
volunteer  companies  raised  for  a  few  months  and  stationed 
in  forts,  that  New  England  delivered  herself  from  the  most 
horrible  Indian  wars."  But  he  forgot  that  the  people  of 
his  State  had  never  had  a  compulsory  militia  law  before 
the  Revolution,  and  that  their  training  in  answering  to 
calls  was  therefore  not  calculated  to  make  them  prompt 
now.  Fortunately,  Northampton  county  was  not  visited 
by  Brandt.  He  had  to  retrace  his  footsteps  to  protect  his 
own  home,  for  General  Sullivan  would  not  allow  himself 
to  be  turned  aside. 

To  the  right,  in  Northumberland  county,  the  same 
tactics  were  employed  to  divide  or  turn  back  the  expedi 
tion.  The  first  attack  was  made  upon  Fort  Freeland,  15 
miles  from  Northumberland .  It  was  surrounded  on  the 
morning  of  July  28th,  by  about  300  British  and  Indians 
under  Captain  McDonald.  There  were  twenty-one  men 
in  the  fort,  and  some  women  and  children.  The  women 
at  once  began  to  run  their  spoons  and  plates  into  bullets  ; 
but  the  men  had  to  surrender.  However,  to  the  presence 
of  Sullivan  at  Wyoming,  no  doubt  was  due  the  favorable 
condition  that  the  old  men,  women  and  children  should 
be  set  free.  In  this  way,  one  lad  of  sixteen  was  able  to 
avoid  captivity  by  quickly  putting  on  his  mother's 
clothes.  A  party  sent  from  Northumberland  2  to  succor 

1  Frontier  Forts,  vol.  1,  pp.  341-345. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7,  p.  589. 


114       Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

the  garrison  at  Freeland's  was  met  by  a  superior  force 
and  lost  the  captain  and  twelve  men,  killed  and  scalped. 
Again  the  situation  in  Northumberland  beggared  descrip 
tion,  not  a  single  inhabitant  being  north  of  Northumber 
land  Town.1  But  Sullivan,  though  appealed  to  by  Colo 
nel  Hunter  for  help,  would  not  ' 'answer  the  intention  of 
the  enemy  and  destroy  the  grand  object  of  this  expedi 
tion."  "Tomorrow  morning,"  he  wrote  on  the  3oth  of 
July,  "the  army  moves  from  Wyoming  and  by  carrying 
the  war  into  the  Indian  country,  it  will  certainly  draw 
them  out  of  yours."  General  Sullivan  might  have  had 
more  sympathy  if  Pennsylvania  had  furnished  the  troops 
Congress  had  asked  for.  Since  she  did  not  furnish  them, 
he  concluded  she  certainly  would  be  able  to  defend  her 
frontiers  without  much  inconvenience.2 

Sullivan  was  correct ;    for  as  soon  as  his  drums  and 
fifes  had  played  in  sprightly  unison  and  reveille — 

"Don't  you  hear  your  General  say, 
Strike  your  tents  and  march  away?" 

Captain  McDonald  fled  as  precipitately  from  the  frontiers 
of  Northumberland  as  Brandt  from  the  Valley  of  the 
Delaware.  The  expedition,  with  its  pack  horses  and  cat 
tle,  moved  out  of  Wyoming  the  last  day  of  July,  passing 
many  houses  and  farms  ruined  and  laid  waste  by  the 
enemy  soon  to  be  encountered.  The  artillery  followed  in 
boats,  120  in  number  and  forming  a  line  nearly  two  miles 
long.  The  army  reached  Tioga  Flats  on  the  nth  of 
August,  and  General  Clinton  formed  a  junction  with  it 
on  the  22nd.  Clinton  likewise  had  met  with  disappoint 
ment  in  not  getting  as  many  troops  as  he  had  expected. 
The  Oneidas  and  some  Onondagas  had  volunteered  to 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  7,  p.  593. 

2  Ibid,  p.  594. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       115 

join  him,  but  at  the  last  moment  they  received  a  warning 
from  General  Haldimand,  that  he  would  let  loose  upon 
them  such  a  number  of  his  Indian  allies  as  would  con 
vince  them  of  their  folly  when  too  late.1  After  erecting 
a  strong  stockade  at  Tioga  Plains,  and  stationing  a  gar 
rison  in  it,  General  Sullivan  slowly  moved  up  the  Che- 
mung  to  give  battle  to  the  enemy  at  Newtown,  the  site  of 
Klmira  now.  Brandt  commanded  the  Indians,  and  Colo 
nel  John  Butler  the  British  and  Tories.  They  were  en 
trenched  behind  breastworks  half  a  mile  long  and  difficult 
of  approach.  Their  works  were  masked  by  shrubs  stuck 
in  the  ground,  as  if  still  growing.  They  contested  their 
position  bravely,  but  were  compelled  to  break  and  flee. 
It  was  the  28th  of  August.  The  fields  were  ripe  with 
corn,  squashes,  beans,  potatoes  and  other  vegetables. 
These  were  destroyed  wherever  found.  Immense  orchards 
of  peach  trees  were  laid  waste,  and  the  whole  Indian 
country  of  the  Lake  region,  including  some  forty  towns, 
was  laid  in  ashes.  One  whole  month  was  devoted  to  the 
work  of  devastation,  which  had  been  enjoined  upon  Sul 
livan  in  Washington 's  instruction .  On  the  5th  of  October 
the  whole  army,  except  the  pack  horses  and  their  attend 
ants,  embarked  in  boats  and  floated  merrily  down  the 
Susquehanna  to  Wyoming,  where  they  arrived  on  the  8th 
of  October,  and  were  feasted  for  two  days  on  venison  and 
turkey.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  Congress  had  found  fault 
with  Sullivan  for  having  requested  an  unreasonable 
amount  of  provisions, 2  the  troops  had  been  on  half  rations 
for  some  time.3  The  sumptuous  feast  at  Wyoming  was 
therefore  badly  needed  for  the  march  to  Easton,  where 
they  completed  their  victorious  expedition,  October  i5th. 


1  Stone's  Life  of  Brandt,  vol.  2,  p.  8. 

2  Journal  of  Congress,  vol.  5,p.  252. 

3  General  Sullivan's  Indian  Expedition,  p.  167. 


116       Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

The  day  before  Congress  had  passed  a  resolution  thanking 
General  Sullivan  and  his  army  for  their  important  ser 
vices,  and  setting  apart  a  day  "of  general  thanksgiving  in 
the  United  States.1 

The  expedition  of  Sullivan  and  that  of  Brodhead,  to 
gether  with  the  surrender  of  Hamilton  to  Clark  in  the 
same  year,  marked  the  high  tide  of  border  warfare  in  Penn 
sylvania.  When  Governor  Hamilton  had  learned  of 
Clark's  success  in  1778,  he  at  once  started  out  with  a 
little  army  of  500  British,  Tories  and  Indians  and  marched 
through  the  forest  to  Vincennes.  Taking  possession  of 
it,  he  spent  the  winter  making  alliances  with  the  Indians. 
But  late  in  February  the  crafty  Virginian  appeared  before 
Vincennes,  and  after  getting  willing  possession  of  the 
town,  forced  Governor  Hamilton  to  surrender.  Instead 
of  having  the  carnival  of  burning  and  scalping  which  he 
had  planned  for  the  summer,  the  cruel  Britisher  went  to 
Virginia,  a  prisoner  of  war,  to  be  exchanged  in  New  York 
and  allowed  to  return  to  England,  March  10,  i78i.2  His 
successor  at  Detroit  was  DePeyster,  who  was  more 
humane  than  Hamilton,  for  he  told  the  Delawares,  when 
later  they  joined  the  British  cause,  that  he  preferred  live 
meat  (meaning  prisoners)  to  scalps. 

Though  the  expeditions  of  1 779  put  an  end  to  organized 
Indian  invasions,  they  did  not  stop  the  depredations  of 
isolated  bands.  So  exasperating  did  these  again  become 
that  the  year  1780  marks  the  time  when  premiums  for 
scalps  were  offered  by  the  authorities  of  Pennsylvania. 
On  the  Western  frontier  the  attacks  began  as  early  as  the 
middle  of  March,  on  the  Ohio  south  of  Pittsburg  ;  and  by 
May  they  had  reached  Westmoreland.3  Most  of  the  in- 


1  Journals  of  Congress,  p.  289. 

2  Haldiraand  MSS.,  Book  123,  p.  53. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  8,  p.  246. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         117 

habitants  were  again  in  the  forts,  and  the  work  in  the 
fields  had  to  be  done  with  guns  close  at  hand.  Ranging 
companies  were  organized  at  the  expense  of  the  people, 
who  subscribed  liberally.  But  a  great  scarcity  of  powder 
existed.  Some  that  had  been  sent  was  damaged  in  the 
carriage  over  the  mountains,  and  what  was  received  in 
good  order  was  accompanied  with  a  request  to  use  spar 
ingly,  as  the  lower  counties  were  heavily  taxed  and  it  was 
necessary  to  convince  them  that  care  and  prudence  would 
be  exercised.  Moreover,  help  of  any  kind  was  not  to  be 
expected  from  Philadelphia  in  the  summer  of  1780.  The 
British  were  in  New  Jersey,  scarce  two  days'  journey 
away,  and  Washington  required  the  support  of  Eastern 
Pennsylvania,  lest  the  consequences  of  an  accident  might 
be  fatal  to  the  city.1  It  is  therefore  not  surprising  that 
the  calls  from  the  frontier  were  loud  and  impatient. 
They  came  from  Huntingdon2  and  Bedford,3  where  the 
presence  of  the  Indians  was  a  greater  menace  even  than 
in  Westmoreland  ;  for  the  preparations  to  meet  them  were 
not  so  extensive.  Huntingdon  had  only  four  or  five  pack 
horses  and  wanted  two  or  three  beef  cattle  "drove  down" 
from  Bedford  ;  while  Bedford  had  four  horses  and  wanted 
six  more,  one  driver,  and  a  supply  of  forage.4  No 
wonder  President  Reed  wrote  to  Colonel  Piper,  Lieuten 
ant  of  Bedford  county,  that  the  public  business  was  some 
times  delayed  a  whole  day  while  members  of  the  Council 
were  employed  in  looking  for  horses  and  wagons. 

On  the  loth  of  July,  to  give  relief  to  the  Western 
country,  Colonel  Brodhead  informed  the  Lieutenants  of 
his  department  that  he  would  make  an  attack  upon  the 
Wyandots  upon  the  Sandusky.  But  before  he  was  ready 

1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  8.  p.  318. 

2  Ibid, p  278. 

3  Ibid,  p.  297. 

4  Ibid,  p.  350. 


118      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

news  arrived  that  a  body  of  thirty  of  their  warriors  had 
attacked  the  settlements  southwest  of  Fort  Pitt.  He  sent 
a  detachment  down  the  river  to  intercept  the  savages. 
The  movement  was  successful,  for  the  whole  party  were 
killed,  but  not  before  some  unsuspecting  harvesters  had 
been  surprised  and  shot.1  This  affair  made  Brodhead 
all  the  more  anxious  to  proceed  to  Sandusky.  But  he 
had  only  one  day's  allowance  of  bread  and  three  or  four 
of  beef,  and  the  conflicting  authority  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia  made  it  difficult  to  get  supplies.2  The  time  for 
starting  to  the  Sandusky  was  now  postponed  until  Oc 
tober  ;  but  when  that  time  had  arrived,  all  hope  of  the 
expedition  was  abandoned.3  Brodhead  deeply  lamented 
the  failure  to  "retaliate  on  the  hell-hounds  of  the  forest." 
However,  he  felt  that  the  blame  did  not  lie  at  his  door. 
"The  want  of  provisions,"  wrote  Washington,  "is  a  clog 
to  our  operations  in  every  quarter."  4  Added  to  his  cha 
grin,  the  Colonel  was  much  annoyed  by  the  disaffection 
of  the  inhabitants  west  of  the  mountains.  They  often 
drank  the  health  of  George  III,  and  seemed  to  desire  the 
removal  of  the  Continental  troops  to  give  them  a  chance 
to  submit  to  the  British  Government.5 

On  the  Northumberland  frontier  there  were  fewer  de 
predations  committed  in  1780  than  in  the  years  before; 
but  they  were  sufficient  in  number  to  keep  the  people  in 
daily  fear.  The  German  regiment  was  stationed  in  the 
valley,  but  it  did  not  seem  to  be  of  much  account,6  for 
they  would  not  stir  a  foot  off  their  posts  without  some 
other  support.  The  Indians  made  their  appearance  in 


1  Washing-ton-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  48. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  8,  p.  536. 

3  The  Olden  Time,  vol.  2,  p.  375. 

4  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  49. 

5  The  Olden  Time,  vol.  2,  p.  378. 

6  Pennsylvania  Archives,  »ol.  8,  pp.  156, 157  and  172. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         119 

April,1  coming  as  far  down  even  as  Colonel  Hunter's 
plantation,  fifteen  miles  from  Sunbury.  Here  they  killed 
a  man  and  child  and  carried  off  a  woman.  Northumber 
land  Town  was  almost  abandoned,  and  there  was  danger 
of  another  "Runaway."  During  the  summer  the  usual 
appeals  for  help  were  sent  to  Philadelphia,  and  several 
companies  of  militia  from  the  nearby  counties  were 
ordered  into  Northumberland.  In  September2  a  large 
body  of  Indians  appeared  at  Fort  Rice,  which  had  been 
put  up  the  fall  before  by  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  and 
occupied  by  them.  These  having  now  been  withdrawn, 
the  Indians  thought  it  a  favorable  chance  to  attack  the  fort. 
Colonel  Kelley  was  first  ordered  to  relieve  the  small  gar 
rison  ;  but  when  he  got  there  the  enemy  had  gone  off  to 
set  fire  to  the  barns  and  grain -stacks  in  the  valley. 
Learning  that  there  were  some  two  or  three  hundred 
Indians,  General  Potter,  who  was  then  home  from  Camp, 
marched  to  Muncy  Hill.  But  the  wily  savages,  having 
accomplished  their  work  of  ruin,  escaped  with  but  one 
scalp  and  one  prisoner,  but  with  a  large  number  of  horses 
and  cattle. 

General  Potter,3  born  in  Ireland,  was  the  son  of  the 
first  Sheriff  of  Cumberland  county,  served  in  the  French 
war  as  lieutenant,  and  pursued  the  Indians  who  had 
killed  school-master  Brown  and  his  ten  pupils  near  the 
present  site  of  Greencastle.  When  the  Revolution  made 
it  necessary  for  the  Associators  to  organize,  he  became 
Colonel  of  the  Upper  Battalion  of  Northumberland 
county.  He  commanded  the  men  of  his  county  at  Tren 
ton  and  Princeton,  and  was  a  brigadier-general  at  Brandy- 
wine  and  Germantown.  In  1778  he  was  at  his  home  in 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  8,  p.  156. 

2  Ibid, p.  567. 

3  Pennsylvania  Mag-.,  vol.  8,  p.  563. 


120      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

Penn's  Valley  on  account  of  his  wife's  sickness  and  as 
sisted  in  repelling  the  savages.  He  held  important  State 
offices  after  the  war  and  died  on  his  large  estate  in  Penn's 
Valley,  1784,  being  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Censors 
at  the  time  of  his  death. 

f  The  Indian  invasions  made  so  early  on  the  frontiers 
I  of  Northumberland  were  a  part  of  a  general  movement 
that  proceeded  from  Niagara.  It  fell  heaviest  upon  New 
York,1  however,  where  one  of  the  first  things  done  by 
Brandt  was  to  fulfill  the  threat  of  Sir  Frederick  Haldi- 
mand  against  the  Oneidas.  It  had  been  a  very  severe 
winter,  so  cold  that  in  New  York  harbor  cannon  were 
wheeled  on  the  ice  from  Staten  Island  to  the  city.  The 
Indians  who  had  been  driven  from  their  comfortable 
homes  in  the  lake  region  of  New  York  suffered  greatly  in 
their  narrow  and  crowded  quarters  at  Niagara.2  Spring 
therefore  was  welcomed  by  them  that  they  might  satisfy 
their  thirst  for  revenge.  They  probably,  and  correctly 
so,  counted  on  a  feeling  of  security  on  the  frontiers  after 
Sullivan's  Expedition.  The  first  news  from  the  North 
Branch  concerning  Indian  attacks  reached  Philadelphia 
through  the  military  commanders  of  Northumberland 
county. 3  Then  Colonel  Stroud  of  Northampton  informed 
the  Council  of  the  distress  which  "the  unexpected  and 
cruel  invasion  of  the  savages  had  occasioned."  4  About 
the  middle  of  April  he  reported  that  two  men  had  been 
captured  a  few  miles  from  his  house,  up  the  Delaware, 
and  that  the  inhabitants  were  fleeing  below  the  moun 
tains  towards  Kaston,  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth.  The 
reports  from  Wyoming,  or  the  North  Branch,  had  not 
been  exaggerated.  One  of  the  first  captives  made  by  the 

1  Stone's  Life  of  Brandt,  vol.  2,  chapter  2,  passim. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  8,  p.  591. 

3  Ibid,  pp.  157-171. 

4  Ibid,  p.  176. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       121 

Indians  was  a  man  who  had  escaped  from  Queen  Esther's 
ring  of  murderous  torture,  1 778 . 1  He  was  a  prize  of  more 
than  ordinary  value.  After  committing  various  outrages 
in  the  very  heart  of  the  settlement,  they  pushed  down  to 
Fishing  Creek,  where  they  took  the  famous  Moses  Van 
Campen  prisoner,  after  scalping  his  father,  brother  and 
uncle.  There  were  at  this  time  only  about  120  men  at 
Wyoming,  the  consolidated  independent  companies  and  a 
detachment  of  the  German  regiment.  These  were  dis 
tributed  among  the  forts  and  in  scouting  parties.  While 
they  gave  comparative  security,  they  were  not  able  to 
keep  the  savages  from  going  around  the  settlements  and 
penetrating  even  beyond  the  Blue  Mountains.  A  party 
of  Indians  murdered  a  man  and  his  three  children  on  the 
Schuylkill,  33  miles  north  of  Reading ;  2  at  Tunkhan- 
nock,  some  booty  was  received  that  was  supposed  to  have 
been  taken  at  Fort  Allen,  below  the  Lehigh  Water  Gap  ; 
while  a  man  and  his  daughter  were  captured  near  Mauch 
Chunk  and  carried  to  Niagara.3  Under  these  common 
dangers  and  sufferings,  it  would  not  seem  possible  for  the 
territorial  bitterness  to  come  to  the  surface  ;  yet  such  was 
the  case.4  Colonel  Hunter,  by  order  of  President  Reed,5 
had  stopped  some  supplies  on  their  way  up  the  Susque- 
nanna  to  Wyoming,  while  "jealousy  and  discontent" 
broke  out  between  the  soldiers  from  the  lower  counties 
of  Pennsylvania  and  those  of  Wyoming.  Congress  there 
fore  ordered  that  Washington  should  station  a  garrison 
at  Wyoming,  to  consist  of  troops  "not  belonging  to  the 
Line  of  Pennsylvania  or  Connecticut,  or  citizens  of  either 
of  said  States." 


1  Miner's  History  of  Wyoming,  p.  278. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  8,  p.  529. 

3  Miner's  History  of  Wyoming-,  p.  286. 

4  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  8,  p.  649. 

5  Ibid,  p.  717. 


122       Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

New  Year's  sun  in  1781  was  veiled  heavily,  though 
before  the  close  of  the  year  Cornwallis  had  surrendered  at 
York  Town.  The  mutiny  of  the  Pennsylvania  L,ine  at 
Morristown  was  evidence  of  the  complete  exhaustion  of 
material  resources  for  the  Revolution.  But  none  of  the 
States  had  been  so  thoroughly  drained  as  Pennsylvania. 
This  State  had  not  only  been  the  residence  of  Congress, 
with  all  their  train  of  attendants  and  officers,  but  also  of 
all  the  military  mechanism  of  the  United  States.  From 
hence  the  quartermaster  principally  drew  his  wagons,  his 
horses,  his  camp  equipage  of  all  kinds — besides  a  great 
number  of  wagoners  and  artificers.  Prisoners  of  war  and 
state  had  been  largely  the  inheritance  of  Pennsylvania. 
All  this  was  done  at  great  expense  to  the  State,  and  bur 
dened  it  with  a  heavy  load  of  debt.  The  substance  of  the 
people  had  been  used,  but  in  its  place  they  had  nothing 
but  money  made  of  rags.  Such  was  the  condition  of 
Pennsylvania  when  Congress  made  its  requisition  for  sup 
plies,  in  1781,  an  amount  equal  to  eleven  years'  taxes 
and  all  the  other  income  of  the  State.1  It  is  not  surpris 
ing,  therefore,  that  the  demands  from  the  frontiers  were 
harder  to  meet  now  than  ever.  In  the  very  first  letter  of 
the  year,  received  by  President  Reed  from  Colonel  Brod- 
head,  the  latter  had  to  apologize  for  his  "  tale  of  misfor 
tune."  2  He  had  to  send  to  Virginia  for  cattle,  and  Gov 
ernor  Jefferson  had  bought  up  all  the  flour  in  Pennsylvania 
west  of  the  mountains.  Scarcely  a  pound  of  either  was 
left  for  the  regulars  at  Fort  Pitt,  who,  besides  having 
scant  rations,  were  almost  naked,  and  would  soon  not  have 
a  rag  to  cover  their  nakedness.  At  the  same  time  a  grand 
council  of  British  and  Indians  was  in  session  at  Detroit, 
planning  a  descent  upon  Western  Pennsylvania.  Money, 

1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  pp.  141-149. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  8,  p.  706. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       123 

fine  uniforms  and  every  other  art  of  persuasion  were  used 
with  the  savages  ;  while  Colonel  Brodhead  had  never 
been  furnished  with  goods  of  any  kind,  nor  a  penny  of 
money  to  transact  business  with  the  Indians .  They  drove 
their  cattle  and  swine  to  Detroit,  and  did  business  there 
on  a  gold  basis,  whereas  at  Fort  Pitt  they  received  money 
which  even  the  Americans  would  not  take  from  them. 
It  was  impossible,  therefore,  to  hold  the  wavering  Dela- 
wares  any  longer  ;  and  not  a  single  tribe  beyond  the  Ohio 
remained  friendly.1  Colonel  Brodhead  was  informed  of 
the  defection  of  the  Delawares  by  the  Moravian  missionary 
on  the  Muskingum — Hecke welder — and  in  April  he  or 
ganized  an  expedition.  He  made  a  rapid  march  to  the 
wilds  of  Ohio,  and  had  an  interview  on  the  Muskingum 
with  Heckewelder,  as  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  Moravian 
Indians — converts  of  Heckewelder  and  his  associate, 
Zeisberger.  It  was  agreed  that  these  Christian  Indians 
were  not  to  be  disturbed,  but  it  required  the  greatest  ex 
ertions  of  Brodhead  to  carry  out  his  agreement  ;  for  the 
militia  hated  the  Christian  Indians  as  much  as  the  others. 
Nevertheless,  it  must  be  said  that  the  peaceful  attitude  of 
the  Delawares  up  to  that  time  was  largely  due  to  these 
missionaries .  Heckewelder  was  constantly  with  this  tribe 
from  1771-1786,  and  Zeisberger  spent  sixty -two  years  of 
his  life  among  them  and  other  tribes.2  The  information 
of  these  men  respecting  Indian  affairs  during  the  Revo 
lution  was  always  eagerly  sought,3  and  they  often  gave 
timely  warning  of  an  intended  raid  on  the  Western  fron 
tiers.  It  is  true,  the  Indian  war  parties  that  plundered 
and  destroyed  white  settlers  were  sometimes  sheltered  and 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  8,  p.  770. 

2  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  p.  7. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  8,  pp.  152-158  ;  vol.  9,  p.  57. 


124      Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

harbored  by  the  Moravian  converts, 1  and  even  these  them 
selves  occasionally  joined  in  taking  up  the  hatchet. 2  But 
we  must  not  forget  that  there  were  numbers  of  such 
Americans  as  McKee,  Elliott  and  Girty,  who  told  them 
that  the  American  armies  had  been  all  cut  to  pieces  by 
the  English,  that  General  Washington  was  killed,  that 
there  was  no  more  Congress,  that  the  English  had  hung 
some  of  its  members  and  taken  the  others  to  England,  to 
hang  them  there,  that  the  whole  country  beyond  the  Alle- 
ghenies  was  in  the  possession  of  the  English ,  and  that  the 
Americans  on  the  west  side  of  the  mountains  were  pre 
paring  to  kill  all  the  Indians,  even  the  women  and  chil 
dren.3  Under  such  influences,  it  is  not  strange  that  the 
work  of  Heckewelder  and  Zeisberger  and  their  co-laborers 
was  sometimes  without  avail  in  holding  their  converted 
Indians  for  the  American  cause. 

Having  arranged  for  the  safety  of  the  Moravian  In 
dians,  Colonel  Brodhead  proceeded  to  Coshocton  and  at 
tacked  the  hostile  band,  and  made  them  sue  for  peace. 
He  committed  the  care  of  the  prisoners — about  twenty — 
to  the  militia.  Exasperated  by  the  frequent  outrages  that 
had  been  committed  against  them,  these  frontiersmen  on 
their  way  back  to  Pittsburg  murdered  and  scalped  the 
whole  number  in  their  charge,  except  a  few  women  and 
children.  Notwithstanding  the  chastisement  of  the  Dela- 
wares,  in  April,  the  usual  fright  and  flight  of  the  settlers 
was  reported  from  Westmoreland  4  and  Bedford  5  in  June 
and  July  ;  and  the  designs  upon  Detroit  were  naturally 
revived.  Want  of  men  and  supplies  still  made  it  impos 
sible  for  Brodhead  to  execute  it .  So ,  much  to  his  chagrin , 


1  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  p.  166. 

2  Pennsylvania  Packet,  April  16,  1782. 

3  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  p.  180. 

4  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  p.  246. 

5  Ibid,  p.  152. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       125 

Virginia  undertook  an  expedition  against  that  point,  and 
the  person  to  command  it  was  George  Rogers  Clark. 
Though  Brodhead  obeyed  orders,  and  supported  Clark  in 
his  preparations,  yet  he  suspicioned  that  Virginia's  enter 
prise  was  not  intended  so  much  for  the  relief  of  the  fron 
tiers  as  for  the  extension  of  her  territorial  claims.1  It 
looked  suspicious  even  to  others.2  However,  the  fact 
that  the  people  of  Westmoreland  joined  in  it  most  heartily3 
seems  to  indicate  that  they,  at  least,  regarded  Virginia's 
motive  to  be  an  honest  one.  Colonel  L,ochry,  with  a  force 
of  volunteers  and  a  company  of  rangers,  was  to  form  a 
part  of  Clark's  command  ;  Lochry  went  down  the  river 
to  join  Clark,  who  had  started  some  time  before  the  West- 
morelanders.  But,  alas  !  L,ochry's  force  was  suddenly 
attacked,  August  24th,  by  a  bod}''  of  Indians  under  Brandt 
and  George  Girty  (brother  of  Simon)  some  distance  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Miami.  Every  man  of  them — number 
ing  more  than  a  hundred — was  killed  or  captured. 4  Colo 
nel  Lochry  was  among  the  slain.  This  unfortunate  affair, 
and  the  non-arrival  of  other  reinforcements,  made  it  nec 
essary  for  Clark,  who  was  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  to 
abandon  his  enterprise.  A  detachment  of  artillery,  which 
he  had  taken  along  from  Fort  Pitt,  arrived  there  after 
many  hardships,  November  26th. 

Colonel  Brodhead,  before  Clark's  departure,  had  gone 
to  Philadelphia  on  public  business  and  turned  his  com 
mand  over  to  Colonel  Gibson.  At  the  suggestion  of 
Clark,  Gibson  agreed  to  make  an  excursion  against  the 
Wyandots  at  Sandusky,5  to  start  in  the  beginning  of 
September.  When  Brodhead  returned,  August  nth,  the 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  pp.  152  and  307. 

2  Ibid,  p.  405. 

3  Ibid,  pp.  247  and  306. 

4  Ibid,  p.  358. 

5  Washing-ton-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  57. 


126      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

matter  was  at  once  laid  before  him.  He  agreed  to  it, 
and,  claiming  the  right  of  command,  called  upon  the 
county  lieutenants  for  their  assistance.  But  a  clash  now 
occurred  between  him  and  Colonel  Gibson  as  to  which 
was  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort  Pitt.  Charges  had 
been  brought  against  Brodhead  in  April,  that  he  with 
others  was  "concerned  in  buying  manors  and  millseats 
and  speculating  on  public  money."  *  So  when  the  San- 
dusky  expedition  was  to  be  undertaken,  Colonel  Gibson 
and  his  friends  claimed  that  Washington's  instructions  to 
Brodhead,  on  his  return  from  Philadelphia,  were  such 
that  he  could  not  with  propriety  be  in  command  until 
after  the  depositions  relating  to  the  charges  had  been 
taken.2  But  Brodhead  stood  his  ground,  and  wrote  to 
Washington  that  the  expedition  against  the  Sanduskies 
would  proceed  from  Fort  Mclntosh,  September  4th  and 
5th,  and  that  he  would  command.3  Everybody  that 
wanted  to  could  go  ;  and  the  volunteers  thus  raised  were 
allowed  to  select  their  own  officers.  Each  man  was  to 
provide  himself  with  a  horse  and  thirty  days'  provisions. 
But  now  most  alarming  news  came  from  Zeisberger, 
the  Moravian  Missionary,  that  a  large  number  of  Wyan- 
dots,  Delawares,  Munseys  and  Shawanese  were  approach 
ing  the  settlements.4  He  cautioned  Brodhead  not  to  dis 
close  the  source  of  the  information,  lest  the  savages  would 
take  revenge  on  the  Moravian  Indians  and  missionaries. 
The  county  lieutenants  were  at  once  notified  and  Forts 
Henry  (Wheeling)  and  Mclntosh  put  in  readiness  for 
defense.5  The  country  took  the  alarm,  and  several  hun 
dred  men  were  in  arms.  Nor  was  it  long  before  the  news 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  p.  97. 

2  The  Olden  Time,  vol.  2,  p.  393. 

3  Ibid,  p.  395. 

4  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  p.  239. 

5  The  Olden  Time,  vol.  2,  pp.  395-396. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania .       127 

from  Zeisberger  was  confirmed  by  the  appearance  of  the 
Indians  at  Fort  Henry  ;  but  on  seeing  the  garrison  pre 
pared  for  them  they  disappeared.  After  killing  and  cap 
turing  several  people  and  slaughtering  all  the  cattle  they 
could  find,  they  withdrew  across  the  Ohio. 

Disappointed  in  not  surprising  Fort  Henry,  the  sav 
ages  now  swore  vengeance  on  the  Moravian  Indians. 
They  had  learned  in  some  way,  just  as  Zeisberger  feared 
might  be  the  case,  that  he  had  notified  the  commander  at 
Fort  Pitt  of  their  approach.  However,  this  betrayal  was 
not  alone  responsible  for  what  followed.  DePeyster,  at 
Detroit,  had  been  made  to  believe  by  McKee,  Elliott  and 
Girty  that  the  Moravian  missionaries  were  sent  by  Con 
gress  as  spies  among  the  Indians.  To  give  their  reports 
greater  weight,  these  Tories  persuaded  some  Indian  chiefs 
to  join  them  in  lodging  complaints  with  the  commandant 
against  the  missionaries . T  In  this  way  they  hoped  to  secure 
DePeyster 's  consent  to  murder  the  missionaries  and  their 
Indian  converts.  Not  wishing  to  assume  responsibility 
for  such  a  crime,  he  sent  McKee  to  the  war  council  of 
the  Six  Nations,  at  Niagara,  and  got  an  order  from  them 
to  the  Chippewas  and  Ottawas  to  this  purport:  "We 
herewith  make  you  a  present  of  the  Christian  Indians  on 
the  Muskingum  to  make  broth  of  them. ' '  The  occasion 
had  now  arrived  for  this  order  to  be  put  into  execution. 
On  returning  to  the  Muskingum  after  their  poor  success 
at  Fort  Henry,  the  exasperated  savages  took  the  mis 
sionaries  prisoners,  tied  them  and  destroyed  everything 
they  had.  The  Moravian  Indians  were  told  they  must 
move  or  they  would  all  be  cut  off.  There  was  nothing 
to  do  but  to  obey.  There  were  three  mission  stations  in 
what  is  now  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  and  their  Indian 

1  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  pp.  229-230. 

2  Loskiel's  Indian  Missions,  part  3rd,  chapter  9,  p.  150. 


128      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

inhabitants  now  all  marched  through  the  wilderness  un 
der  the  command  of  the  "infamous  rascal,  Matthew 
Elliott. ' '  They  carried  their  simple  stock  of  household 
goods  on  their  backs  and  drove  the  cattle  and  swine  be 
fore  them.  Arriving  at  the  Sandusky,  October  nth,  the 
Christian  Indians  were  left  there  for  the  winter,  while  the 
missionaries  were  obliged  to  go  with  Elliott  to  Detroit 
and  answer  the  charges  that  had  been  lodged  against 
them  ;  but  as  the  evidence  was  insufficient,  they  were 
allowed  to  return  to  Sandusky,  when  the  cold  of  winter 
already  made  their  journey  one  of  great  hardships.  Their 
horses  having  been  stolen  before  the  start,  DePeyster 
kindly  furnished  them  others,1  a  kindness  of  which  his 
predecessor  would  scarcely  have  been  capable. 

While  the  main  body  of  the  savages  under  Elliott 
were  convoying  the  Moravians  to  Sandusky,  a  band  of 
seven  returned  to  Washington  county  and  captured  an 
old  man  of  sixty.  The  settlers  quickly  gave  them  chase 
and  killed  all  but  one.  There  was  a  better  organization 
for  defense  now  in  southwestern  Pennsylvania.  The 
dispute  about  the  boundary  line  between  Pennsylvania 
and  Virginia  had  run  on  to  the  great  disadvantage  of  this 
section  until  1779.  In  that  year  it  was  agreed  to  extend 
Mason  and  Dixon's  Line  due  west  to  the  five-degree 
limit,  as  called  for  by  the  charter  of  Pennsylvania,  and  that 
a  meridian  line  from  the  western  extremity  of  Mason  and 
Dixon's  Line  should  be  the  western  boundary  of  Pennsyl 
vania.  This  agreement  was  not  carried  out  until  1783, 
and  consequently  there  was  anarchy  and  confusion  in  that 
section,  lasting  until  Washington  county  was  erected  by 
an  Act  of  the  Assembly,  March  28th,  1781. 2  It  included 


1  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  p.  297. 

2  Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  vol.  1,  p.  598. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       129 

all  the  territory  in  Pennsylvania  south  of  the  Ohio  and 
west  of  the  Monongahela. 

The  Indian  invasion  into  Wheeling  and  Monongahela 
valleys,  together  with  the  conflict  of  authority  at  Fort 
Pitt,  caused  a  postponement  of  the  expedition  against 
Sandusky,  and  finally  its  abandonment.1  Washington 
now  put  an  end  to  the  dispute  between  Brodhead  and 
Gibson  by  appointing  the  latter  to  the  command  "during 
the  dependence  of  the  trial."  2  Brodhead  was  mildly  re 
buked  for  misconstruing  the  Commander-in-Chief 's  letter 
to  him.  He  was  told  that  there  should  have  been  no 
doubt  as  to  the  impropriety  of  holding  the  command 
while  his  trial  was  preparing  and  hearing.3  The  change 
took  place  September  iyth  ;  but  Gibson  was  in  command 
only  until  Brodhead 's  successor,  General  William  Irvine, 
arrived  early  in  November.  The  new  commander  spent 
the  rest  of  the  year  in  a  reformation  of  military  affairs  at 
Fort  Pitt,  working  at  times  with  his  own  hands  as  an  ex 
ample  for  his  officers.  Nothing  else  of  consequence  is  to 
be  recorded  about  the  Western  frontiers  for  the  year  1781 , 
except  that  there  was  a  report  sent  to  Fort  Pitt,  by  Zeis- 
berger,  to  the  effect  that  Guy  Johnson  with  a  large  army 
was  coming  down  from  Presque  Isle.  This  had  some 
foundation.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  proposed  to  General 
Haldimand,  as  a  threat  to  Clark's  expedition  against  De 
troit,  that  a  force  of  2,000  men  should  come  down  from 
Niagara  to  Fort  Pitt  by  way  of  Presque  Isle  and  co 
operate  with  an  expedition  from  the  Southern  army  up 
the  rivers  Potomac  and  Susquehanna.  But  Haldimand 
did  not  think  well  of  Clinton 's  proposition .  ' '  Fort  Pitt, ' ' 
said  he,  "is  not  to  be  taken  by  a  coup  de  main,  nor  will 


1  Washington  to  Gibson,  Washinjfton-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  62. 

2  Spark's  Letters  to  Washing-ton,  vol.  3,  p.  452. 

3  Washington  to  Brodhead,  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  62. 


130       Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

the  enemy  suffer  it  to  be  surprised."  x  General  Irvine 
was  therefore  not  disturbed  in  his  preparations  for  an 
active  campaign  in  1782. 

William  Irvine  was  born  in  Ireland,  1741,  and  was 
like  so  many  other  officers  from  Pennsylvania,  of  Scotch- 
Irish  descent.  He  studied  medicine  and  was  appointed 
surgeon  of  a  British  ship  of  war.  In  the  French  war  his 
line  of  duty  brought  him  to  America,  whither  he  returned 
after  peace  had  been  declared,  settling  at  Carlisle.  Irvine 
took  an  active  part  on  the  side  of  the  Colonies  at  the 
opening  of  the  Revolution.  He  raised  the  Sixth  Penn 
sylvania  and  was  appointed  to  its  command  early  in  1776. 
He  marched  at  its  head  to  Canada  and  was  among  the 
200  prisoners  at  Three  Rivers.  He  was  carried  to  Quebec 
and  not  exchanged  until  April,  1778,  although  paroled 
shortly  after  his  capture.  Having  won  distinction  in  the 
battle  of  Monmouth,  he  was  made  a  brigadier  General  in 
1779.  He  was  actively  engaged  in  the  army  until  1781, 
when  after  doing  duty  in  the  recruiting  service  for  awhile 
he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  western  depart 
ment.  He  held  this  post  to  the  close  of  the  war.  Penn 
sylvania  showed  her  gratitude  for  his  services  by  giving 
him  a  tract  of  land  on  Lake  Erie,  known  as  "Irvine's 
Reserve."  It  was  through  his  advice  that  Pennsylvania 
bought  the  "triangle"  on  Lake  Erie  from  the  United 
States.  After  the  war  he  held  a  number  of  important 
trusts — on  the  Council  of  Censors,  in  the  Congress  of 
the  Confederation,  in  the  State  Constitutional  Convention 
of  1790,  in  the  Congress  under  the  Constitution,  in  the 
Whiskey  Insurrection  and  in  the  Electoral  College,  etc. 
He  died,  1804,  in  Philadelphia,  having  removed  there 
from  Carlisle.2 


1  Vermont  Historical  Society,  vol.  2,  p.  342. 

2  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  65. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       131 

There  was  quite  a  decrease  of  Indian  outrages  in  the 
Susquehanna  and  Delaware  Valleys  in  the  year  1781. 
The  savages  appeared  early  in  the  spring,  but  after  har 
vest  there  were  but  few  of  them  seen  ; x  for  they  had  re 
ceived  a  signal  blow  in  New  York.2  A  later  incursion 
had  been  ordered,  as  appears  from  the  following  letter  to 
Joseph  Brandt,  dated  October  3rd,  1781  : 

"  DEAR  JOSEPH  : — If  you  have  no  other  object  of  importance 
in  view,  I  request  that  you  will  make  a  move  upon  Minisink 
and  the  East  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  as  soon  as  possible."3 

The  ravages  began  in  March  and  April.4  In  Northum 
berland  the  enemy  had  made  five  different  strokes  from 
the  22nd  of  March  till  the  i2th  of  April.  A  force  of 
militia  from  the  counties  below  was  called  out  on  a  two 
months'  tour,  and  sent  up  the  North  Branch.  Their 
presence  seems  to  have  frightened  the  Indians,  for  Colonel 
Hunter  discharged  some  of  them  in  August,  though  he 
claimed  that  it  was  because  of  a  lack  of  rations.5  There 
was  the  greatest  distress  in  Northumberland  at  that  time. 
Many  of  the  rangers  were  so  naked  for  want  of  clothing 
that  they  could  not  do  duty.  There  was  no  surgeon  in 
the  county,  within  forty  miles,6  to  attend  either  the  sol 
diers,  if  wounded,  or  the  people,  if  taken  sick.  One 
offered  himself  from  Lancaster  county,  but  he  was  found 
lacking  in  character  and  ability.7  General  Potter  ex 
pressed  the  wish  that  the  Assembly  could  make  a  visit 
with  him,  that  they  might  be  moved  to  extend  relief.  But 
relief  was  impossible  from  that  quarter,  especially  when 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  p.  392. 

2  Stone's  Life  of  Brandt,  vol.  2,  pp.  155-159. 

3  Haldimand,  MSS.,  Vermont  Hist.  Society,  vol.  2,  p.  345. 

4  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  pp.  70, 106,  107;  Miner's  Hist,  of  Wyom 
ing,  p.  292. 

5  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  p.  364. 

6  Ibid,  p.  208. 

7  Ibid,  p.  238. 


132       Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

it  was  expected  that  the  British  in  New  York  would  in 
vade  Pennsylvania  after  Washington  had  stolen  that 
matchless  march  on  Clinton — across  New  Jersey,  through 
Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  and  down  into  Virginia — 
there  to  fight  the  last  battle  of  the  Revolution. 

In  Wyoming,  the  conditions  were  very  like  those  of 
the  North  Branch .  Occasional  incursions  of  small  bands 
occurred  all  summer,  and  several  people  were  killed ;  but 
the  company  of  Continental  troops  now  stationed  there 
gave  confidence.  Scouting  parties  were  sent  out,  going 
from  fifty  to  eighty  miles  up  the  river.  In  September,  a 
party  of  Indians  attacked  the  Hanover  settlement,  and 
succeeded  in  carrying  off  two  boys  in  revenge  for  the  death 
of  an  Indian,  who  had  been  shot  by  the  father  the  year 
before.  To  kill  an  Indian  on  the  frontier  was  always 
liable  to  be  fraught  with  serious  consequences.  In  this 
respect,  again,  the  lot  of  a  soldier  on  the  frontier  was  far 
less  desirable  than  that  of  a  man  in  the  regular  army. 

Northampton  was  more  scared  than  hurt  in  1781.  The 
Indians  crossed  the  Delaware  into  New  Jersey,  and  did 
some  bloody  work  there.  On  their  return  they  burned  a 
house  in  Northampton  county,  and  drove  away  a  herd  of 
cattle.  This  might  not  have  alarmed  the  people  much  ; 
but,  as  the  Indians  hurried  away,  they  lost  a  knapsack 
containing  an  order  from  Colonel  Butler  to  Captain  Brandt, 
by  which  it  appeared  that  a  heavy  attack  was  intended  to 
be  made.1  The  militia  flew  to  arms  as  never  before. 
Their  methods  of  checking  the  Indians  were  specially 
recommended  by  President  Reed  to  other  counties  ;  and 
the  Council  gave  twenty-five  pounds  of  hard  money  to  one 
party  for  their  activity  and  bravery.2 

Though  the  war  along  the  seaboard  had  practically 

1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  p.  107. 

2  Ibid,  p.  238. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         133 

closed  in  1781,  the  border  war  in  Pennsylvania  continued 
in  all  its  fury  on  some  parts  of  the  frontiers.  Barly  in 
January,  1782,  General  Irvine  had  gone  to  his  home  in 
Carlisle  and  to  Philadelphia.  Until  his  return,  March 
25th,  Colonel  Gibson  was  in  command  at  Fort  Pitt.  Dur 
ing  Irvine's  absence,  a  most  atrocious  massacre  was  com 
mitted  by  a  body  of  two  hundred  Monongahela  settlers, 
under  David  Williamson,  colonel  of  a  militia  battalion  oi 
Washington  county.  The  Moravian  missionaries  had  ob 
tained  permission  from  Detroit  for  the  Christian  Indians, 
confined  at  Sandusky,  to  return  to  the  Muskingum  to  get 
some  corn  that  had  been  left  there.  Now,  it  happened 
that  in  February  some  Indian  atrocities  were  committed 
in  Washington  county.1  Coming  so  early,  while  the 
snow  was  still  on  the  ground,  these  raids  caused  much 
surprise  and  consternation.  The  belief  was  prevalent 
that  some  ' '  enemy  Indians  ' '  had  occupied  the  vacant 
villages  of  the  Moravian  Indians.2  Upon  reaching  the 
Muskingum,  however,  Colonel  Williamson's  militia  found 
there  the  Moravian  Indians  who  had  come  from  Sandusky 
to  get  corn.  There  were  about  150  men,  women  and 
children,  and  they  offered  no  resistance.  The  question 
arose  what  to  do  with  them.  Sundry  articles  were  found 
among  them  that  had  been  taken  from  people  in  Wash 
ington  county.  They  confessed  that  ten  warriors  had 
come  with  them  from  Sandusky,  and  had  gone  into  the 
settlements,  and  that  four  of  these  were  then  present  in 
the  villages.3  The  majority  were  no  doubt  friendly,  for 
they  offered  to  go  to  Pittsburg  that  their  sufferings  might 
end.4  Colonel  Williamson  put  it  to  a  vote  whether  the 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  p.  496. 

2  Washing-ton-Irvine   Correspondence    p.   100;    also,   Wither's   Border 
Warfare,  p.  320. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  p.  540. 

4  Wither's  Border  Warfare,  p.  322. 


134      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

Indians  should  be  spared  or  slain.  Just  how  the  vote  re 
sulted  is  in  doubt ;  x  but  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  fate 
of  the  Indians.  They  were  all  killed  except  those  in  the 
upper  village,  the  slain  numbering  upwards  of  ninety, 
most  of  whom  were  women  and  children.  After  pillaging 
the  villages,  the  white  demons  burned  every  house  within 
them.  While  preparations  for  death  were  going  on,  the 
Indians  assembled  for  the  last  time  in  the  worship  of  God, 
and  many  of  them  were  tied  while  in  the  act  of  prayer.2 
There  was  a  divided  sentiment  on  the  frontiers  about  this 
massacre  at  the  time  of  its  occurrence  ;  but  an  investiga 
tion  was  impossible  ;  for,  like  school- boys,  the  militia 
would  not  testify  against  one  another.  Such  was  the  end 
of  the  Christian  Indians  on  the  Muskingum.  They  fell 
a  victim  at  the  hands  of  the  frontiersman,  after  he  had 
experienced  unspeakable  horrors  for  eight  long  years.  In 
1782,  the  "  back  inhabitants  "  could  scarcely  look  upon 
an  Indian  any  more  as  a  human  being.  Nevertheless, 
the  murder  on  the  Muskingum  was  not  justifiable. 

To  make  the  punishment  of  the  Indians  more  com 
plete  still,  another  voluntary  expedition  was  now  organ 
ized  to  proceed  against  the  Indians  at  Sandusky.  This 
place  was  the  rendezvous  for  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest 
— Shawanese,  Mingoes,  Monseys,  Ottawas,  Delawares 
and  others — preparatory  to  their  raids  on  the  Western 
frontier.  General  Irvine  gave  his  permission  for  the  ex 
pedition,  on  condition  that  any  conquests  the  volunteers 
might  make  should  be  in  behalf  and  for  the  United  States.3 
It  was  to  be  no  expedition  such  as  Virginia  had  sent  out 
under  Clark — with  a  double  purpose,  ostensibly  to  harass 
the  enemy,  but  in  reality  to  acquire  territory.  Each  vol- 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  p.  540. 

2  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  pp.  318-319. 

3  Washington-Irvine  Correbpondence,  p.  113. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         135 

unteer  furnished  his  own  horse  and  gun  and  provisions 
for  a  month,  on  condition  that  he  was  afterwards  exempt 
from  two  tours  of  military  duty.  In  this  way,  an  army 
of  500  was  collected  at  Mingo  Bottom,  on  the  Ohio,  be 
low  the  present  site  of  Steubenville.  By  a  vote,  Colonel 
William  Crawford  was  elected  commander,  the  other  can 
didate  having  been  Colonel  Williamson,  under  whom  the 
Moravian  massacre  occurred.  William  Crawford  was 
born  in  Virginia.  He  learned  the  art  of  surveying  under 
Washington,  but  when  the  French  war  broke  out  he  for 
sook  the  compass  and  became  a  soldier.  At  the  close  of 
Pontiac's  war,  he  was  a  captain.  Having  been  across 
the  mountains  as  a  soldier,  he  settled  there  afterwards, 
and  located  in  what  is  now  Fayette  county  as  a  farmer, 
surveyor  and  Indian  trader.  He  served  as  justice  of  the 
peace  in  old  Bedford  county,  and  in  Westmoreland  upon 
its  organization  ;  but  he  was  prominent  in  Lord  Dun- 
more 's  war,  and  thus  became  committed  to  serve  the  in 
terests  of  Virginia  in  the  long  territorial  dispute.  He 
entered  the  Revolutionary  service  as  lieutenant  colonel  of 
a  Virginia  regiment,  and  served  at  first  on  the  frontier, 
then  with  Washington  at  Brandy  wine  and  Germantown. 
When  General  Hand  was  assigned  to  the  Western  De 
partment,  Colonel  Crawford  was  ordered  to  Fort  Pitt, 
where  he  did  valiant  and  useful  service  under  the  various 
commanders. 

Crawford's  expedition  started  May  25th,  and  pursued 
"Williamson's  trail"  to  the  Muskingum,  where  the 
horses  were  fed  with  the  corn  of  the  Moravian  Indians. 
Here  two  stray  Indians  were  recklessly  fired  upon  by  the 
volunteers,  and  Colonel  Crawford  realized  that  the  troops 
under  him  were  hard  to  command.  They  were  ten  days 
on  the  march  to  Sandusky,  while  it  might  have  been  per- 


136      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

formed  in  seven.  General  Irvine  had  advised  them  to 
attack  the  town  in  the  night,  but,  instead,  they  halted 
within  ten  miles  of  the  enemy,  and  resumed  the  march  at 
the  late  hour  of  seven  in  the  morning.1  The  enemy, 
numbering  about  200  Indians  and  100  British  rangers, 
were  encountered  at  4  P.  M.  Both  parties  fought  hard  for 
a  piece  of  woods,  but  the  enemy  gave  way  at  sunset.  The 
next  day,  the  British  and  Indians  being  heavily  reinforced 
and  the  Americans  greatly  burdened  with  their  sick  and 
wounded,  Colonel  Crawford  ordered  a  retreat,  but  great 
confusion  attended  it.  Quite  a  number,  therefore,  were 
missing  after  the  detached  bodies  of  the  troops  had  been 
collected  again.  Among  the  missing  ones  was  Colonel 
Crawford.2  They  had  been  captured  about  thirty  miles 
from  the  scene  of  the  battle ;  and  five  days  afterwards 
they  were  all  but  one  cruelly  put  to  death  by  the  Dela 
ware  Indians.  The  one  that  escaped  was  a  Doctor 
Knight,  who  arrived  at  Fort  Pitt  in  the  course  of  twenty- 
one  days.  He  reported  3  that  Colonel  Crawford  was  first 
tied  to  a  long  post,  with  room  to  walk  around  it ;  his  ears 
were  cut  off,  and  squibs  of  powder  blown  into  different 
parts  of  his  body.  Then  the  squaws  took  hickory  brands 
and  touched  such  parts  of  his  body  as  would  be  most 
tender.  They  took  the  scalp  and  slapped  it  in  the  face 
of  Doctor  Knight.  Thus  the  victim  was  tortured  one 
whole  hour,  when  Doctor  Knight  was  removed  from  the 
horrible  scene.  Just  as  the  Doctor  was  leaving,  Colonel 
Crawford  sank  down  on  his  knees  exhausted  ;  but  a  squaw 
threw  a  shovelful  of  hot  coals  on  him  to  put  him  again 
in  motion.  The  colonel  made  no  outcry,  except  to  beg 


1  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  122. 

2  Pennsylvania  Packet,  July  4th,  1782;  Pennsylvania  Gazette,  July  llth, 
1782. 

3  Pennsylvania  Journal  and  Weekly  Advertiser,  July  23, 1782;  also,  In 
cidents  of  Border  I*ife,  pp.  131-139. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       137 

Simon  Girty,  whom  he  had  formerly  known  at  Pittsburg, 
to  shoot  him.  But  his  appeal  was  met  with  a  satanic 
smile.  The  next  day  Doctor  Knight  passed  the  place 
under  his  Indian  guard  and  saw  the  bones  of  his  colonel 
in  the  ashes.  Doctor  Knight  was  to  be  burned,  too,  but 
he  managed  to  escape  before  he  was  tied  to  the  stake. 
The  British  accounts,  though  not  going  into  the  details, 
all  agreed  in  pronouncing  the  death  of  Colonel  Crawford 
as  "  cruel,"  as  a  "  torture,"  "  abhorrent,"  etc.,  and  they 
united  in  saying  that  it  was  in  revenge  for  the  murder  of 
the  Moravian  Indians.1 

This  account  of  Dr.  Knight  struck  the  people  of 
Western  Pennsylvania  with  a  strange  mixture  of  fear  and 
resentment  and  they  at  once  began  to  prepare  for  another 
expedition.2  Washington,  however,  cautioned  General 
Irvine  against  rashness,  for  he  thought  such  treatment  as 
Crawford  had  received  had  to  be  expected  when  it  was 
remembered  how  the  Moravian  Indians  fared.3  But  be 
fore  the  settlers  could  retaliate,  the  Indians  were  on  the 
frontier  in  Westmoreland  county.  The  people  of  that 
section  had  kept  together  at  various  points  of  safety  dur 
ing  the  spring  and  summer  and  exercised  the  strictest 
watch.  The  militia  deserted  from  the  posts  because  they 
had  not  been  paid  and  were  in  rags.  The  whole  country 
north  of  the  Forbes'  Road  was  well-nigh  deserted.  Such 
was  the  condition  of  affairs  when  Hannastown  was  at 
tacked  on  Saturday,  July  i3th.  This  town  had  been  the 
county  seat  of  Westmoreland  since  its  organization  in 
1773.  It  consisted  of  about  thirty  houses  built  of  logs. 
Its  courthouse  and  jail,  of  like  construction,  had  both 
witnessed  many  an  exciting  scene  in  the  days  of  Connelly 

1  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  372-374;  also  Haldimand  M8S., 
Vermont  Historical  Society,  vol.  2,  pp.  290-363. 

2  Spark's  Letters  to  Washington,  vol.3,  p.  524. 

3  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  132. 


138       Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

and  through  the  subsequent  years  of  territorial  disputes. 
On  the  1 3th  of  July  a  number  of  the  town  folk  had  gone 
to  O' Conner's  fields,  a  mile  and  a  half  north  of  the  village, 
to  cut  the  harvest  of  Michael  Huffnagle.  Suddenly  a 
number  of  Indians  were  seen  approaching  the  fields. 
The  reapers  all  ran  for  the  town.  Fathers  called  for  their 
wives  and  children  and  the  children  for  their  parents,  all 
rushing  towards  the  fort.  Even  the  criminals  of  the  jail 
were  allowed  to  seek  the  shelter  of  the  stockade.  Five 
men  had  volunteered  to  go  to  the  fields  and  reconnoitre. 
One  was  on  horseback  and  got  there  first.  When  he  saw 
the  savages  mustered  in  force,  he  returned  and  told  those 
on  foot  to  flee  to  the  forts  for  their  lives.  The  Indians 
were  exasperated  when  they  came  to  Hannastown  and 
saw  that  the  people  had  all  gone  into  the  fort.  So  they 
applied  the  torch  and  every  house  but  two  was  laid  in 
ashes.  While  the  flames  were  still  adding  fury  to  the 
vengeance  of  the  savages,  a  band  of  the  latter  set  out  for 
Miller's  Fort  where  a  wedding  on  the  day  before  had 
brought  a  number  of  guests  together  from  a  distance,  to 
be  added  to  the  number  of  those  who  dwelt  in  the  cabins 
of  the  fort.  Some  were  in  the  fields,  others  in  the  fort 
and  still  others  in  the  house  where  the  wedding  had  been 
held.  The  savages  came  upon  the  place  so  suddenly  that 
most  of  its  dwellers  and  sojourners  were  taken  prisoners, 
and  a  few  of  them  killed  ;  while  the  fort  and  the  buildings 
around  it  shared  the  fate  of  Hannastown. 

In  the  evening  the  marauders  all  assembled  near 
Hannastown,  regaling  themselves  with  their  booty. 
About  thirty  farmers  of  the  surrounding  country  managed 
to  get  into  the  fort  and  by  a  trick  that  was  common  de 
ceived  the  savages  as  to  the  numerical  strength  of  the 
garrison.  They  marched  and  countermarched  on  the 
bridge  across  the  ditch  around  the  fort  to  the  music  of 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       139 

the  fife  and  drum.  The  sounds  carried  terror  to  the  sav 
age  breast  in  the  silence  of  the  night,  and  towards  morn 
ing  about  300  Indians  and  60  Tories  marched  off  toward 
the  Kittanning.  The  prisoners  were  surrendered  to  the 
English  in  Canada,  whence  most  of  them  returned  after 
the  cruel  war  on  the  frontier  had  ceased — a  day  which 
happily  then  was  not  far  distant.  Hannastown  was  never 
rebuilt  and  the  plow  has  been  going  over  the  place  for  a 
century.1 

In  September  the  Council  and  Assembly  proposed  to 
Washington  to  send  out  two  expeditions  from  Pennsyl 
vania — one  from  Fort  Pitt  and  one  from  Northumberland 
county  ;  2  but  Washington  soon  after  received  informa 
tion  that  the  British  had  called  in  all  their  Indian  parties 
and  so  the  two-fold  project  was  abandoned.3  Irvine, 
however,  would  have  marched  from  Fort  Pitt  in  Septem 
ber  had  he  not  been  disappointed  in  raising  a  sufficient 
force.  The  Indians  were  still  murdering  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  Fort  Pitt  and  he  was  also  anxious  to  draw  off" 
the  Delawares  and  Wyandots  to  prevent  them  from  join 
ing  the  Shawanese  whom  General  Clark  intended  to  attack 
at  the  same  time.4  But  General  Clark  destroyed  the 
towns  of  the  Shawanese  on  the  Miami,  without  any  assist 
ance,  early  in  November,5  In  doing  this  after  the  British 
had  called  in  their  light  troops  and  Indians  he  greatly 
added  to  the  hatred  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  British 
and  Indians.6 

The  Northumberland  frontiersmen  had  theoppoitunity 
early  in  February,  1782,  to  attend  court  in  Sunbury,  and 
thus  in  a  representative  way,  to  discuss  affairs  in  their 

1  Frontier  Forts,  vol.  2,  pp.  300-307. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  p.  630. 

3  Ibid,  pp.  640-648. 

4  Washinjrton-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  135. 

5  Roosevelt's  Winning  of  the  West,  vol.  2,  p.  209. 

6  Haldimand  MSS.,  Vermont  Historical  Society,  vol.  2,  p.  362. 


V       o 

140      Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 


IT 


county.  They  seem  to  have  been  of  one  mind  as  to  what 
to  do,  which  was  to  move  off  the  frontiers,  or  at  least  to 
put  their  families  out  of  danger.  They  had  for  three 
years  been  visited  in  the  early  spring  by  the  Indians,  and 
they  expected  the  hostile  visits  as  usual.1  A  company 
of  militia  was  accordingly  stationed  at  Fort  Muncy  by  the 
Kxecutive  Council.  Nor  did  they  arrive  too  soon,  for  the 
enemy  appeared  on  the  Incoming  about  the  middle  of 
April.2  Fort  Muncy  was  rebuilt  and  tradition  says  some 
Hessian  prisoners  were  employed  on  the  work.  3  Ranging 
parties  were  constantly  out  looking  for  Indians  ;  and  it 
was  while  on  this  kind  of  duty  that  Moses  Van  Campen 
was  captured  a  second  time.  (See  page  80).  On  the  6th 
of  May  a  party  of  rangers  met  a  number  of  Indians  not 
far  from  the  present  site  of  Mifflinburg,  and  the  engage 
ment  resulted  in  the  loss  of  two  men  killed.  In  August 
a  large  body,  numbering  some  sixty  or  seventy,  appeared 
a  few  miles  above  Sunbury  and  murdered  a  whole  family. 
It  was  these  repeated  attacks  that  led  the  Council  and 
Assembly  to  propose  to  Washington  an  expedition  from 
Northumberland,4  but  which  was  abandoned  when  the 
Commander-in-  Chief  learned  that  the  British  light  troops 
and  Indians  had  been  called  in.  It  seems  to  have  been  a 
mistake  not  to  send  a  force  up  the  Susquehanna  into  the 
Indian  country,  for  in  October  the  outrages  became  more 
serious  again.  The  people  now  lost  all  confidence  in  the 
British  assurances  that  no  more  incursions  should  be 
made  on  the  frontiers,  and  they  would  not  return  to  their 
homes  until  winter  had  set  in.5 

The  Indians  were  pacifically  disposed  towards  Wyom- 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  p.  503. 

2  Ibid,  p.  528. 

3  McOinnis'  History  of  the  West  Branch,  p.  637. 

4  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  p.  630. 

5  Ibid,  p.  657. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       141 

ing  and  Northampton  in  the  year  1782.  In  October, 
therefore,  the  question  of  withdrawing  the  Continental 
garrison  from  Wyoming  came  up  in  Congress.  As  it  was 
left  to  the  discretion  of  the  Commander-in-chief,1  the 
Executive  Council  urged  Washington  not  to  withdraw  it, 
for  two  reasons  ;  first,  the  pacific  disposition  of  the  In 
dians  ought  not  to  be  relied  on  to  the  extent  of  withdraw 
ing  the  garrison  ;  secondly,  should  the  assurances  of  the 
present  amicable  temper  be  fully  confirmed,  there  was 
much  reason  to  fear  that  the  old  contest  between  Penn 
sylvania  and  Connecticut  would  immediately  be  renewed. 
The  Council  was  not  willing  that  any  risk  of  disturbing 
the  peace  and  tranquillity  of  Wyoming  should  be  taken. 
Pennsylvania's  interests  were  safest  as  long  as  a  Conti 
nental  garrison  was  stationed  in  the  disputed  territory.2 
The  settlement  of  this  dispute  had  already  been  under 
way  for  a  year.  Soon  after  Cornwallis*  surrender,  the 
Executive  Council  had  presented  a  petition  to  Congress, 
praying  for  an  adjustment  of  the  matter.3  Connecticut 
promptly  met  the  overtures  ;  and  on  August  i2th,  1782, 
the  delegates  of  the  two  States  in  Congress  announced 
that  they  had  agreed  on  a  number  of  gentlemen  to  con 
stitute  a  court.4  This  court  met  at  Trenton  in  Novem 
ber,  and,  after  sitting  forty-one  days,  announced  a  decision 
in  favor  of  Pennsylvania,  December  3oth.  When  the 
Continental  troops  were  withdrawn  in  February  follow 
ing,  5  two  companies  of  rangers  from  Northampton  county 
were  stationed  at  Wyoming  to  insure  the  continued  safety 
of  the  settlements  against  Indian  incursions.6 


1  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  7,  p.  499. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  p.  653. 

3  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  7,  p.  219. 

4  Ibid,  p.  435. 

5  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  9,  p.  755. 

6  Ibid,  p.  761. 


142      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

Nor  was  this  precaution  unnecessary,  for,  before  the 
arrival  of  the  rangers,  two  men  had  been  either  killed  or 
captured.  Along  the  whole  frontier,  from  Northampton 
to  Washington  county,  the  savages  renewed  hostilities  in 
the  spring  of  1783.  It  was  a  grievous  disappointment  to 
the  settlers.  They  were  more  discouraged  than  they  had 
ever  been  before.  Their  sanguine  hopes  of  peace  gave 
way  to  despair. *  Their  brethren  in  the  country  ' '  below  ' ' 
had  already  enjoyed  peace  since  the  surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis,  and  the  soldiers  of  the  Continental  army  were  rest 
ing  in  camp,  soon  to  return  to  their  homes.  These  early 
incursions  were  made  in  retaliation  of  Clark's  destruction 
of  the  Shawanese  towns  on  the  Miami.  (Seep.  139).  The 
1 '  Six  Nations  ' '  had  received  word  from  their  brothers  of 
that  act  "by  the  perfidious,  cruel  rebels,"  "  at  a  time 
when  they  and  we  were  forbade  to  go  to  war,  and  directed 
to  cease  hostilities."  They  therefore  notified  the  British 
that  they  would  remain  idle  no  longer  and  see  their  breth 
ren  and  people  destroyed.  They  even  asked  General 
Haldimand's  assistance  in  sharpening  their  axes.  He 
employed  every  argument  to  dissuade  the  Six  Nations 
from  their  purpose  ;  but  he  could  not  do  it.  He  saw 
some  justice,  too,  in  their  request,  and  so  he  resolved  to 
assist  them  by  every  means  in  his  power.  He  wrote  this 
resolve,  and  the  reasons  for  it,  in  an  open  letter,  with  the 
request  that,  in  case  the  messenger  fell  into  the  enemy's 
hands,  it  be  delivered  to  General  Washington,  as  it  con 
cerned  the  American's  happiness  more  than  the  King's 
service.2  It  seems  that  Virginia,  to  some  extent  at  least, 
established  her  claims  to  the  country  north  of  the  Ohio  at 
the  cost  of  the  blood  of  Pennsylvania  frontiersmen. 

The  depredations  committed  in  accordance  with  the 

1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  10,  p.  22. 

2  Haldimand  MSS.,  Vt.  Hist.  Society,  vol.  2,  pp.  362-363. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       143 

resolves  of  the  Six  Nations  and  the  British,  led  Congress, 
on  the  first  of  May,  to  pass  a  resolution  that  the  Indians 
be  informed  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities  and  the  prelimi 
nary  articles  of  peace,  and  that  the  United  States  would 
enter  into  a  treaty  with  them,  too.  This  communication 
was  to  be  coupled  with  a  warning,  that  if  they  did  not 
cease  hostilities  Congress  would  take  decided  measures 
to  compel  them  thereto.1  Ephraim  Douglas,  an  officer  of 
the  Eighth  Pennsylvania,  and  the  first  clerk  of  the  courts 
of  Fayette  county,  was  delegated  to  carry  this  message  to 
the  Indians.2  Before  leaving  Fort  Pitt,  he  suggested  to 
General  Irvine  to  dispatch  a  messenger  to  General  Clark, 
in  order  to  restrain  him  from  any  further  attacks  on  the 
Indians  until  the  proposals  of  Congress  had  been  made  to 
them.  On  arriving  at  Detroit,  Douglas  was  well  received 
by  DePeyster  and  the  Indians  ;  and  he  at  once  wrote  back 
to  Fort  Pitt,  announcing  the  fact  of  his  friendly  reception, 
in  order  that  no  unfriendly  act  should  be  committed  at 
home  against  any  Indians  who  might  chance  to  visit  the 
frontiers  now  that  they  knew  the  Americans  wanted 
peace.  The  message  of  Congress  he  withheld  from  the 
Indians  at  Detroit  by  request  of  DePeyster.  The  British 
commandant  thought  it  incompatible  with  his  duty  to 
suffer  the  message  of  the  United  States  to  be  delivered 
before  he  was  possessed  of  such  authenticated  accounts  of 
the  treaty  with  England  as  would  justify  his  concurrence 
with  Douglas.  The  Indians,  however,  agreed  to  cease 
further  hostilities,  provided  the  inhabitants  of  the  United 
States  showed  the  same  disposition  to  avoid  every  cause 
of  just  complaint,  especially  to  confine  themselves  to  their 
own  side  of  the  Ohio.3  Douglas  then  proceeded  to  Niagara, 


1  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  8,  p.  255. 

2  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  Appendix  M,  p.  413. 

3  Ibid,  p.  415. 


144      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

hoping  that  the  commandant  of  that  post  might  have  more 
authority  to  act  with  him .  But  he  was  again  disappointed . 
He  was  not  allowed  to  assemble  the  Indians  and  make 
known  his  mission.  The  British  took  this  stand  in  order 
to  protect  the  Indians  in  the  possession  of  their  lands.1 

Upon  this  point  there  was  much  anxiety  among  the 
Indians  at  this  time.  Captain  Brandt  came  to  see  Douglas 
at  Niagara  and  insisted  that  they  must  have  their  lands 
secured  before  they  would  enter  into  any  further  or  other 
treaty,  and  the  British  commandant  suggested  that  Con 
gress  send  some  person  among  them  to  give  assurance 
upon  this  point.2  Nor  was  this  anxiety  without  good 
reason.  Companies  were  being  formed  for  purchasing 
large  tracts  of  lands,  which  had  been  appropriated  by 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  for  the  redemption  of  officers' 
and  soldiers'  certificates.  In  Pennsylvania,  these  lands 
lay  north  and  west  of  the  Ohio  and  Allegheny,  but  the 
Indian  titles  to  them  were  not  yet  extinguished.3  It  was 
an  open  secret  that  the  land  companies  conspired  with 
the  surveyors  to  make  surveys  in  the  Indian  country. 
General  Irvine  therefore  issued  an  order  forbidding 
either  men  or  women  from  crossing  the  Allegheny  or  Ohio 
anywhere  between  Kittanning  and  Fort  Mclntosh  with 
out  a  permit.4 

To  avoid  giving  offence  to  the  Indians  by  possible  en 
croachments  of  these  land  companies,  the  Legislature  of 
Pennsylvania  in  September  asked  Congress  for  permission 
to  buy  the  lands  north  and  west  of  the  Ohio  and  Alle 
gheny,  but  the  request  was  refused.5  However,  meas 
ures  were  then  taken  under  deliberation  in  Congress  for 


1  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  Appendix  M,  p.  416. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  10,  pp.  83-90. 

3  Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  March  7,  1780. 

4  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  Appendix  G,  p.  261. 

5  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  10,  pp.  371-377. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       145 

a  treaty  of  peace  with  the  Indians.  These  measures  were 
adopted,  October  i5th,  and  delegates  from  Pennsylvania 
were  permitted  to  attend  the  conference  for  the  purpose 
of  making  the  State's  intended  purchase.1  But  repeated 
attacks  were  made  on  the  Western  frontier  in  the  spring 
of  1784,  before  the  commissioners  had  even  fixed  upon  a 
time  and  a  place  for  holding  the  treaty.  The  people 
were  very  uneasy  that  nothing  had  been  done.2  Besides 
the  dangers  from  incursions,  the  treaty  was  becoming 
urgent  to  satisfy  the  soldiers  and  others  who  wanted  the 
lands  of  the  Indians.  The  Continental  commissioners 
were  to  meet  in  New  York  to  organize,  but  failed  to  get 
together.  The  delay  was  so  hazardous  to  Pennsylvania 
that  its  commissioners  actually  talked  of  acting  inde 
pendently  of  the  United  States  at  Tioga  or  Wyalusing. 
When  in  August  the  Continental  commissioners  still 
failed  to  act,  the  General  Assembly  passed  a  resolution 
that  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  State  should 
meet  the  Indians  who  claimed  the  unpurchased  territory 
within  its  limits.3  It  appears  that  when  the  original 
commissioners  delayed  so  much,  Congress  in  March, 
1784,  appointed  others  and  instructed  them  to  hasten  their 
departure.4  Later  another  member  was  added  and  two 
other  changes  were  again  made,  making  the  commission 
to  consist  finally  of  George  Rogers  Clarke,  Oliver  Wal- 
cott,  Arthur  Lee,  Richard  Butler,  Benjamin  Lincoln  and 
Philip  Schuyler.  The  sum  of  15,000  dollars  was  appro 
priated  for  the  purchase  of  goods  to  be  used  in  negotiat 
ing  with  the  Indians.5 

The  month  of  October  was  finally  selected  as  the  time 


1  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  10,  pp.  439-468. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  10,  pp.  264  and  266. 

3  Minutes  of  the  Assembly,  August  25th,  1784. 

4  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  11,  p.  51. 

5  Ibid,  p.  63. 


146       Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

for  holding  the  treaty,  and  Fort  Stanwix  as  the  place. 
The  Continental  commissioners,  of  whom  only  three  were 
present  at  the  sessions — Walcott,  Butler  and  Lee — arrived 
on  the  2nd  of  the  month,  and  the  Pennsylvania  commis 
sioners  a  day  or  so  later.  The  business  commenced  on 
the  3rd  and  continued  until  the  23rd.  New  York  had 
already  done  what  Pennsylvania  threatened  to  do — held 
a  separate  treaty  with  the  Six  Nations.  In  this  act,  we 
see  thus  early  State  sovereignty  cropping  out.  It  gave 
Washington  and  others  great  concern.  He  viewed  with 
fearful  apprehension  the  rage  for  speculation  in  Indian 
lands,  and  the  disposition  of  the  States  to  get  as  much  of 
them  as  possible.  "  Men  in  these  times,"  said  he,  "  talk 
with  as  much  facility  of  50,000,  100,000  and  500,000  acres 
as  a  gentleman  formerly  would  do  of  1,000."  Again, 
"  Individual  States  opposing  the  measures  of  the  United 
States,  encroaching  upon  the  territory  of  each  other,  and 
setting  up  old  and  obsolete  claims,  is  verifying  the  pre 
dictions  of  our  enemies,  and  is  truly  unfortunate. ' '  J  New 
York,  very  soon  after  passing  into  the  hands  of  the  Eng 
lish,  had  secured  from  the  Six  Nations  the  right  of  pro 
tecting  them  and  their  lands,  leaving  to  them  a  kind  oi 
qualified  sovereignty. 2  But  after  1754,  when  Sir  William 
Johnson  became  the  British  agent  in  America  for  Indian 
affairs,  this  right  of  sovereignty  over  the  Six  Nations,  to 
gether  with  whatever  similar  powers  other  colonies  had 
in  Indian  affairs,  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  mother 
country.  But  aside  from  this  fact,  Congress  had  organ 
ized  an  Indian  department,  and  the  treaties  of  the  Revo 
lutionary  period  were  made  by  authority  of  Congress. 
Furthermore,  by  the  treaty  of  1783,  the  sovereignty  of  all 
the  Indian  countries  within  the  prescribed  limits  granted 

1  Ford's  Writings  of  Washing-ton,  vol.  10,  pp.  417-425. 

2  Kent's  Commentaries,  vol.  3,  p.  392. 


Border  Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.         147 

to  the  United  States  by  Great  Britain,  became  vested  in 
the  former  to  the  same  extent  as  it  had  been  exercised  by 
the  latter.1 

Had  New  York  and  other  States  prevailed,  the  Indians 
would  have  been  expelled  at  once,  and  by  force,  if  neces 
sary,  from  all  lands  not  ceded  to  them  previous  to  the  war. 
The  result  of  this  would  have  been  another  war.2  Such 
was  Washington's  view,  and  the  feeling  of  some  of  the 
Indians  at  Fort  Stanwix  proved  that  his  view  was  correct. 
Red  Jacket  was  opposed  to  the  burial  of  the  hatchet,  even 
under  the  milder  policy  of  Congress,  as  laid  down  at  the 
treaty.  He  spoke  with  great  eloquence  in  favor  of  the 
continuance  of  the  war  by  the  Indians  on  their  own  ac 
count.3 

Another  incident  came  up  at  Fort  Stanwix  that  tested 
the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States  as  against  the  State 
of  New  York.  The  latter  had  sent  an  agent  there  to 
represent  her  interests,  instructing  him  to  oppose  and 
frustrate  any  of  the  proceedings  of  the  commissioners 
which  might  eventually  affect  the  interests  of  New  York.4 
One  of  the  measures  he  took  to  obstruct  the  work  of  the 
commission  was  to  sell  liquor  to  the  Indians.  The  com 
missioners  had  orders  not  to  allow  anything  of  the  kind 
to  be  sold  while  the  treaty  was  in  progress.  So  they  com 
manded  the  United  States  officer  in  charge  to  deposit  all 
spirituous  liquors  in  the  houses  of  sutlers  and  venders 
within  a  mile  of  the  place  in  the  public  store,  not  except 
ing  New  York's.  The  commissioners  even  forbade  the 
latter  to  be  admitted  in  or  near  the  place  of  holding  the 
council,  or  to  listen  or  observe  what  was  going  on  inside. 5 


1  Kent's  Commentaries,  vol.  1,  p.  257. 

2  Ford's  Writing s  of  Washing-ton,  vol.  10,  p.  306. 

3  Stone's  Life  of  Brandt,  vol.  2,  p.  243. 

4  The  Olden  Time,  vol.  2,  p.  412. 

5  Ibid,  p.  450. 


148      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

The  incidental  matters  disposed  of,  the  commission 
proceeded  to  its  work.  One  of  the  first  things  done  was 
to  allow  General  L,afayette  to  speak  to  the  Indians.  He 
was  present,  and  wanted  to  leave  soon.1  The  Marquis 
praised  those  who  had  adhered  to  the  Americans  in  the 
war,  and  blamed  those  who  had  been  their  enemies.  He 
advised  them  all  most  earnestly  and  eloquently  to  listen 
to  the  voice  of  the  Americans.  Their  answer  was  full  of 
the  spirit  of  peace.  The  Mohawks,  in  particular,  declared 
their  repentance  for  the  error  they  had  committed.  Yet, 
in  the  course  of  the  council,  it  appeared  that  the  Six  Na 
tions  were  opposed  to  a  separate  negotiation  with  the 
United  States.  They  wanted  no  treaty  made  until  all  the 
Western  Indians,  who  were  not  present,  could  be  con 
sulted  .  But  the  commissioners  would  listen  to  no  delay . 2 
It  was  largely  through  the  efforts  of  the  Cornplanter  that 
the  Six  Nations  were  persuaded  to  relinquish  a  portion 
of  their  territory  by  compromise,  rather  than  lose  the 
whole  by  force.  He  saw  the  lorce  of  the  instructions  of 
Congress,  namely,  that,  as  the  King  of  Great  Britain  had 
made  no  mention  of  the  Indians  in  the  treaty  of  peace  with 
the  Americans,  he  had  left  them  to  seek  peace  with  the 
United  States  upon  such  terms  as  the  latter  should  think 
just  and  reasonable.3  So  when  the  following  articles  of 
peace  were  proposed,  October  2oth,  the  Indians  signed 
the  treaty  two  days  later  : 

1.  Six  hostages  to  be  delivered  and  kept  by  the  United  States 
till  all  prisoners,  white  and  black,  taken  by  the  four  nations  at 
war  with  America,  had  been  restored. 

2.  The  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras  to  keep  the  lands  they  had. 

3.  A  line  to  be  drawn  from  L,ake  Ontario  south,  about  four 
miles  east  of  the  Niagara  river,  to  the  northern  boundary  of 


1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  10,  p.  346. 

2  The  Olden  Time,  vol.  2  p.  428. 

3  Ibid,  p.  414. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       149 

Pennsylvania,  thence  west  to  the  western  boundary  of  Penn 
sylvania,  and  thence  south  to  the  Ohio  river.  The  lands  west 
of  this  line  were  to  be  ceded  to  the  United  States ;  while  the 
lands  then  held  by  them  east  of  the  line  were  to  be  secured  to 
them  in  peaceful  possession. 

4.  Upon  the  signing-  of  the  articles,  the  United  States  to  order 
goods  to  be  delivered  for  the  use  and  comfort  of  the  Six  Nations. 

Then  followed  some  wholesome  advice,  and  three  days 
later  the  council  adjourned.  The  results  of  the  treaty 
were  highly  unsatisfactory  to  the  Six  Nations,  especially 
to  Brandt,  who  was  not  present.  Captain  Aaron  Hill,  a 
subordinate  chief  of  the  Mohawks,  had  been  detained  as 
one  of  the  hostages,  and  this  added  to  Brandt's  dissatis 
faction.  He  had  gone  to  Quebec  to  complete  his  business 
with  Sir  Frederick  Haldimand,  and  then  to  embark  for 
England  But  he  immediately  gave  up  the  trip  abroad 
for  that  season.  He  went  back  to  his  own  people  to  look 
after  their  interests.  He  formed  a  plan,  like  that  of  Pon- 
tiac  twenty  years  before — of  forming  a  great  confederacy 
of  the  Northwestern  Indian  nations.  He  visited  the 
country  of  the  upper  lakes,  and  held  a  number  of  coun 
cils.  Having  done  this,  he  embarked  for  England,  where 
it  was  conjectured  he  presented  matters  of  great  import 
ance  ;  for  that  country  acknowledged  that  it  owed  much 
to  the  services  of  Colonel  Brandt  during  the  war  in 
America.1 

By  the  cession  made  by  the  Six  Nations,  their  title  to 
the  lands  across  the  Allegheny  River  was  extinguished. 
The  Pennsylvania  commissioners  delivered  a  great  quan 
tity  of  goods  to  them  in  consideration  of  the  deed  received, 
amounting  to  about  $25,ooo.2  But  as  the  Delawares  and 
Wyandots  were  not  at  Fort  Stanwix,  another  treaty  was 
held  at  Fort  Mclntosh  in  January,  1785.  There  the  Con- 

1  Stone's  Life  of  Brandt,  vol.  2,  p.  249. 

2  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  10,  p.  318. 


150       Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

tinental  commissioners  secured  a  cession  of  the  country 
on  the  Scioto,  Miami  and  Muskiugum  from  the  Wyan- 
dots,  Chippewas,  Dela wares  and  Ottawas.1  However, 
the  towns  of  Guadenhutten,  Schonbrun  and  Salem  were 
afterwards  reserved  for  the  sole  use  of  the  survivors  of  the 
Christian  Dela  wares.2  The  treaty  by  the  Pennsylvania 
commissioners  with  the  Delawares  and  Wyandots  was  for 
the  same  lands  in  the  same  words  and  with  the  same 
boundaries  as  that  which  they  made  at  Fort  Stanwix  with 
the  Six  Nations.3  Thus,  after  a  period  of  about  102  years, 
all  the  Indian  right  of  soil  within  the  charter  bounds  of 
Pennsylvania  was  extinguished.  It  may  be  added,  that 
in  1788  Pennsylvania  paid  1,200  pounds  for  the  Indian 
right  in  the  lands  of  the  triangle  on  L,ake  Erie,  and  that 
the  next  year  a  further  grant  was  added  for  the  same 
purpose.4 

The  tract  of  land  acquired  by  Pennsylvania  at  Fort 
Stanwix  and  Fort  Mclntosh  was  known  as  the  "Indian 
country"  since  1768.  Now  it  was  thrown  open  for  set 
tlement.  But  the  act  of  the  Cornplauter  at  Fort  Stanwix 
was  a  sore  subject  to  many  of  the  Indians  of  the  Six 
Nations.  After  Brandt  had  made  his  visit  to  the  western 
nations,  the  Senecas  and  other  tribes  in  the  "Indian 
country"  of  Pennsylvania  became  quite  unfriendly. 
Even  so  late  as  1789,  the  Indians  came  within  two  miles 
of  Pittsburg  and  killed  two  men  who  had  gone  out  to 
fish.5  In  1793,  after  the  formation  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Population  Company  for  encouraging  settlements  in  the 
"Indian  country,"  the  town  of  Presque  Isle  was  planned 
for  this  purpose  "and  to  afford  additional  security  to  the 


1  Wither's  Chronicles,  p.  366. 

2  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  10,  p.  123. 

3  Minutes  of  the  Assembly,  Appendix,  February-April,  1785. 

4  Smith's  Laws,  vol.  2,  pp.  123-124. 

5  Pittsburg-  Gazette,  July  2nd. 


Border    Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       151 

frontiers  thereof. ' '  *  As  soon  as  possible  it  was  put  on 
a  war  footing  and  a  garrison  stationed  there.  Forts 
LeBoeuf,  Machault,  Venango  and  Franklin  were  all  re-/ 
paired  and  garrisoned  while  the  Indian  war  in  Ohio  was) 
in  progress.  Fourteen  blockhouses  in  Westmoreland, 
Armstrong,  Allegheny,  Indiana  and  Crawford  counties 
were  erected  as  a  protection  against  Indian  attacks  from 
the  year  1783-1795,  the  year  in  which  Wayne  ended  the 
war  in  Ohio  and  made  the  treaty  of  Fort  Greenville.2 
The  obstinacy  of  the  Indians  in  this  region  was  so  great 
that  even  the  people  of  Washington  county  were  appre 
hensive  of  danger  and  stood  ready  for  an  attack.3  This 
discontent  in  the  "Indian  country"  was  not  alone  due  to 
dissatisfaction  with  the  purchase  at  Fort  Stanwix,  nor 
with  the  purchase  of  the  triangle.  The  British,  who  still 
occupied  the  frontier  posts  at  Niagara,  Detroit,  etc.,  in 
trigued  with  the  Six  Nations.  It  was  the  opinion  of 
military  men  on  the  frontiers  at  that  time,  that  peace  or 
war  with  the  Indians  depended  on  being  at  peace  or  war 
with  the  English.4  There  was  much  truth  in  this,  for  it 
was  not  until  after  the  treaty  of  Ghent  that  England  once 
and  for  all  abandoned  her  demands  for  an  Indian  boun 
dary  line,  for  a  strip  of  neutral  Indian  territory,  for  mili 
tary  and  naval  supremacy  on  the  lakes  and  for  the  inclu 
sion  of  the  Indians  as  parties  to  treaties  between  her  and 
the  United  States.5 

The  greatest  legacy  of  the  ten  years  of  border  warfare 
in  Pennsylvania  during  the  Revolution,  was  its  share  in 
the  achievement  of  independence.  The  frontiersman  by 
his  heroic  and  resolute  resistance  to  the  enemy  in  the  rear, 


1  Frontier  Forts,  vol.  2,  p.  555. 

2  Frontier  Forts,  pp.  537-627. 

3  Pennsylvania  Archives,  2nd  series,  vol.  6,  p.  762. 

4  Ibid,  p.  723. 

SMcMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  vol.  4,  p.  269. 


152      Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania. 

helped  to  make  it  possible  for  the  Continental  army  to 
bring  the  war  for  independence  to  a  successful  issue  on 
the  front.  The  British  at  critical  moments,  with  their 
savage  allies,  repeatedly  tried  to  break  through  the  moun 
tains  or  draw  off  the  strength  of  Washington's  army  be 
yond  them  ;  but  they  never  succeeded. 

Next  in  importance  was  the  territory  acquired  from 
the  Indians.  Pennsylvania's  share  was  erected  into  eight 
counties  in  1800.  The  act  of  the  Legislature  1  was 
known  as  the  "great  county  act, ''  for  by  it  were  organized 
Beaver,  Butler,  Mercer,  Crawford,  Erie,  Warren,  Venango 
and  Armstrong  counties.  The  money  paid  for  all  this 
land  was  a  mere  trifle  ;  but  the  blood  shed  for  it  and  the 
hardships  endured  cannot  be  over-estimated.  The  land 
has  proven  to  be  a  source  of  immense  wealth,  not  alone 
to  Pennsylvania,  but  to  other  States.  The  oil  that  was 
hidden  under  the  ground  has  made  millionaires  and  mil 
lionaires,  and  has  given  rise  to  the  most  gigantic  and 
powerful  corporation  in  the  world. 

The  war  on  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  was  also  one 
of  the  beginnings  of  "the  winning  of  the  West." 
Wayne's  victory  at  Maumee,  which  put  the  final  seal  on 
the  treaty  of  Fort  Mclntosh,  opened  to  settlement  the 
country  from  Erie  westward  and  southwestward  along 
the  "Wilderness  Road."2  Two  streams  of  population 
converged  at  Eri£ — one  from  Pennsylvania,  chiefly  from 
Dauphin  county  ;  the  other  from  Connecticut  and  New 
York.  The  Pennsylvania  stream  gained  great  accessions 
in  Allegheny  and  Westmoreland  counties.  These  settlers 
had  to  get  their  lands  from  companies  organized  for 
speculation.  The  Pennsylvania  Company,  devised  by 


1  Bioren's  Laws,  vol.  6,  pp.  115-124. 

2  See  Map  of  the  United  States,  Thorpe's  Constitutional  History  of  the 
American  People,  rol.  1,  opposite  p.  158. 


Border   Warfare  in  Pennsylvania.       153 

Aaron  Burr  and  others,  received  a  charter  from  the  Legis 
lature  in  1793  and  purchased  land-warrants  covering 
nearly  the  entire  triangle.1  It  offered  1 20  acres  to  each 
of  the  twenty  families  that  should  first  settle  "on  Lake 
Erie  territory."  The  Harrisburg  and  Presque  Isle  Com 
pany,  originated  at  Harrisburg,  was  formed  in  1796. 
The  proceeds  of  its  stock  were  to  be  expended  in  buying 
lots  in  the  towns  of  Erie,  Waterford,  Franklin  and  others, 
and  lands  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  north  and  west  of 
the  Ohio  and  Allegheny  rivers.  Other  companies  had 
purchased  land-warrants  and  their  claims  often  conflicted. 
The  Holland  Land  Company,  a  New  York  concern, 
claimed  all  of  the  triangle.  Some  settlers  held  from  one 
company,  some  from  another  and  many  had  no  title  at 
all.  The  result  was  a  crop  of  law  suits  and  bankruptcies. 
But  the  immigrants  continued  to  come  in,  some  to  remain 
and  others  to  pass  on  to  the  Ohio  country.  So  thriving 
was  the  immigrant  business,  that  many  farm  houses  were 
converted  into  temporary  inns.2  Life,  there,  indeed  was 
primitive.  All  the  possessions  that  the  immigrant  had 
he  carried  in  an  ox-cart,  and  he  began  his  career  on  the 
Lake  Shore  in  a  log  cabin,  with  a  bark  roof  and  a  blanket 
door.  But  there  was  a  promise  in  the  future.  Grain 
and  stock  kept  him  alive  ;  wool  and  flax  kept  him  in 
clothes,  and  pearlash  paid  for  his  land.  Such  was  the 
beginning  of  the  "winning  of  the  Wt^t,"  in  the  great 
Northwest  ;  and  it  was  made  possible  by  the  treaties  of 
Forts  Stanwix,  Mclntosh  and  Greenville. 


1  See  Map  of  the  United  States,  Thorpe's  Constitutional  History  of  the 
American  People,  vol.  1,  p.  212. 

2  Thorpe's  Constitutional  History  of  the  American  People,  vol.  1,  pp. 


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